Star Trek Voyager War Against the Collective
by Sithicus
Summary: Ensign Desrochers is a member of the crew of the Starship Voyager Ensign Desrochers is also an Omniversal traveler from an alternate reality undergoing tests to train him for some great destiny, Ensign Desrochers is now a father... R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** We are here, beginning a new chapter and a new story; I trust my loyal readers shall continue to enjoy where I'm going with this series, I also hope you'll be able to enjoy reading Al and Amy moments, because this story's just loaded with'em.  
The typical disclaimer doth apply in this wonderous situation; Paramount owns most all, I own nothing, Amy is my own creation though the child her character sprang off of is part of Star Trek lore and thus susceptible to the Paramount rule, so to speak. Ensign Alain Desrochers is my own character, Shadok former Lord Emperor of the Draconian Empire, now Borg Hunter designated Deathsaurus is mine; though the name's origins stem from Takar's Transformers line if you happen to know anything about the Japanese Exclusive Transformers toylines that existed back in the day, I had to borrow that name because it just sounds so cool. I make no claims to owning anything else; they belong to whoever I borrowed them from, **borrowed not stole**... Well I think that covers all; and I trust you shall enjoy this story as it goes on, please read & review folks I'd love to get your reactions to my darling daughter... Er I mean; the fictional darling daughter I created. 'Chuckles'

* * *

Prologue

I was very surprised when I regained my senses to discover a young eight-year old alien girl crouched on all fours not more then two feet away instead of the infant girl I'd been expecting. When I was assimilated I did not grow older, but then again I was already considered to be an adult; she, a mere child of approximately a year old, probably didn't have all the necessary elements the nanoprobes required. There was a slight throbbing in my head that deftly and incessantly called for my attention, but I did my best to ignore it; upon seeing me once again conscious the child beamed a fang filled smile my way.

"_Hello Daddy._" She spoke up in greeting; her voice was tiny and melodious, and I felt an odd pull upon my heart when I first heard it. It suited her so nicely; just as every part of her furthered the cuteness factor I was feeling as I eyed her obviously in shock judging by her sudden bewildered expression.

"_Oh boy._" I thought to myself; her mouth hadn't moved when she spoke so I failed to notice that there was another presence inside my mind, her presence to be exact and she had actually heard that. She frowned slightly; before she could answer any questions however I chose to speak up, not realizing that our conversation was internal. _"Wh-what did you call me?"_ I asked her still very much out of it since the assimilation process had finalized.

"_Daddy of course."_ She returned as if it should be obvious. _You brought me into this world after all; or should I call you Mommy?"_ She asked innocently tilting her head to one side in her confusion.

"Doctor to Seven of Nine and the Captain; would you both please report to Sickbay immediately." I faintly heard the Doc request, but I put it aside to address this new development.

"_Certainly not."_ I hastily replied to her query. _"It's just… Well I'm not your biological father."_ I pointed out; finding some difficulty in speaking to this child, she exuded so much innocence that I just couldn't find the right way to connect to her.

"_What difference does that make?"_ She demanded falling back on her haunches as tears began to well up in her eyes. _"You gave me new life; I was dead for point seven seconds."_ She added; scaring me with the level of intelligence she was displaying, I shook my head trying to clear out the annoying throbbing and hastily moved to comfort her wrapping her up into an awkward embrace.

"_Oh no, no, no child; please there's no reason to cry."_ I began rocking her back and forth. _"You just took me by surprise is all; if… If you want to consider me to be your father, then I am both flattered and honored."_ I returned sharing a warm and tender smile with the girl; she beamed once again and proceeded to bury her face into my chest nuzzling me much like a cat might, my smile widened at the affectionate display and my heart instantly seemed lighter.

"Ensign Desrochers; what is the meaning of this?" A very upset voice demanded snapping me from my internal thoughts; leaping to my feet, the girl clutched tightly in my arms I swayed almost drunkenly as I whirled to face the Captain.

"Captain Janeway." I began fear clouding my thoughts; the girl tried to bury herself deeper into me to hide from this imposing authority figure. "I…I; Doc, why don't you fill her in I'm still…" I trailed off as vertigo took hold of me and I swiftly sat on the nearest biobed so I could lift a hand to my head, this strange throbbing was causing me a new world of hurt and demanded attention.

"Yes Doctor; please inform us as to why you summoned us here, what happened to the baby? And who is this?" Seven asked promptly arriving at that moment; the Doctor looked anything but willing to share, however he was a professional, or at least programmed to be one.

"The baby developed further complications upon my arrival; Ensign Desrochers was here looking in on her, I did everything in my power to correct the oversight." The Doc trailed off as a pained look crossed his features. "I, I couldn't save her Seven; she would have been lost if not for Ensign Desrochers' timely intervention, although I'm afraid Captain it violates one of the very principles of the Federation." The Doc revealed eyeing me briefly; both women turned to me now as I sat trying desperately to overcome the intense wave of fear that kept digging into my brain uprooting my emotions, why was I being so adversely affected by the Captain's sudden arrival.

"Where is the child; I wish to pay my respects." Seven stated not fully realizing what the Doc meant; the Captain shook her head, having grasped the obvious much quicker then the former drone.

"Seven; I don't think you understand." She spoke gently now her expression one of indecision and slight fear of all things. "That is the baby." She added indicating the girl in my lap.

"That's impossible." Seven returned her voice filled with unwavering certainty. "The only possible way that this young girl could be that infant is if Ensign Desrochers utilized his…" She trailed off instantly as realization finally hit and a look of horror flashed across her features for the merest fraction of an instant before a mask of calm collectiveness snapped back into place.

"I…" I tried to start, but paused briefly to shake my head and clear it once more re-asserting myself. "I had no choice; this child… She called to me like nothing I've ever felt before, I… I just couldn't let this innocent life slip away when it was within my power to prevent it." I finally managed to get out.

"How could you possibly have known she wouldn't just be destroyed?" Seven demanded startling me with the vehemence in her words. "You are not like them." She added. "The Borg are as different from you as night is to day; how could you be certain your nanoprobes wouldn't have caused further problems?" Her voice was filled with such emotion that it startled me; it was almost as if Seven's usual demeanor was being pushed aside by the mere thought that I could have harmed one of the children she helped save, I smiled softly despite the inappropriateness of it all.

"I knew." I returned simply brushing the cowering child's hair. "She's so beautiful." I whispered losing myself in the sudden moment; though the fear was slowly subsiding my emotional center was currently somewhere in the far left field or something and I was starting to feel it.

"Ensign." The Captain snapped bringing me out of my thoughts. "Perhaps we should let Seven take charge now while we discuss this." She added her tone clearly stating she would brook no argument; and yet I could not bear to let her go, I shook my head.

"She's mine." I spat in a possessive tone. "My own… My precious…" The girl looked up at me with fear and finally I realized what was causing my mental instability; with a very firm shove I managed to regain total control. "Forgive me little one." I began speaking to her with strong endearment in my tone. "I didn't realize we were linked." I added.

"I beg your pardon?" The Captain spoke up; we both turned to her before the child turned back to me an expression of apology in her eyes.

"Sorry Daddy; I didn't know either." She stated speaking openly now. "I'll try to keep our link safer from now on." She added with a big smile.

"Link?" Seven and the Captain repeated as one.

"Telepathic." I hastily explained. "There's nothing Collectivey about it." I added feeling a little foolish for creating a Buffy-esque term to describe the hive mind mentality of the Borg Collective.

"I believe Ensign Desrochers means that her species is telepathic and that she's been openly communicating with him since he first regained consciousness." The Doctor further explained for the benefit of those who didn't understand what I was trying to say. "I did detect the possibility that she would develop telepathic abilities when she grew older." He added by way of further explanation.

"Her mind is so chaotic." I admitted. "She's still only an infant after all biologically speaking, her newfound gifts are a mystery to her and I'm afraid that her strong emotions overpowered my logic circuits for a time." I added with a quirky smile. "Now why don't you go with Seven for a few minutes while Daddy talks to the Captain; she'll get you something functional to wear until I can pick out something prettier." I added not caring if the others didn't care for my presumptions; however it made sense that I should be the one to take charge of her, she was my responsibility after all and their weren't any more regeneration alcoves in the cargo bay for her special needs.

"Ok Daddy, but promise me she won't take me far." The girl requested with a pout; I sighed and glanced to Seven.

"We shall go into the Doctor's Office." She reluctantly agreed; hopping from my lap the girl tentatively approached Seven, who took her by the hand and led her out.

"Please; let's step outside to discuss this." The Captain requested; I nodded in understanding and indicated she should lead the way; together we slipped outside the sickbay doors and moved to one side so as not to trigger their automatic responses.

"You place me in a difficult situation Ensign." She began.

"I know." I sighed feeling a loss even at this small distance from her; part of me seemed to realize I shouldn't be so attached just yet, but a larger part of me just accepted it. "I assimilated her without your consent; I gave her the same curse the Borg saw fit to bestow upon me, and who knows what's going to happen when we find her people." I added a sharp feeling of possessiveness clouding my mind once again; boy was this ever going to take some getting used to.

"You're confined to quarters until I can discuss this with the rest of the senior staff; your replicator rations are revoked for the next three months and your holodeck privileges are limited to accompanying your friends only if they invite you." She stated forthrightly; I nodded sub-consciously standing up straighter as I accepted her decision. "Now; about this daddy business." She added a smile flashing across her face briefly; I squirmed nervously as a sheepish smile spread across my own features, I had the distinct feeling this was defiantly going to take some getting used to.

* * *

Those who are dead usually have no thought for the living world, they accept their fate and exist in whatever afterlife their species believes in. But Shadok; Lord Emperor of the Draconian Empire could not forget how Hunis tricked him, he could not forget how his life and his rule was taken by one man, and he could not quell his desire for vengeance. What he did not know; what he couldn't possibly have foreseen was that Hunis, or rather Q; was not yet finished with him.  
Q smiled mischievously as he did something the Continuum would most certainly frown upon if they were to find out; he took the essence of Shadok and instilled him into a new vessel soon to be born to this world. Q couldn't help himself; he regretted the fact that his current pet project, his Padawan if you will, had never had the chance to face Shadok in personal combat. And so; Shadok was destined to be a pawn once again; for one final cruel twist of fate, he was about to get his chance for revenge.  
Bright light flared suddenly all around and he began to see shapes again; his past life forgotten a new life began, turning his head he failed to process everything he could see quickly enough and so felt as though the world was swimming in murky depths.

"What is your designation?" A dark feminine voice asked rather sultry.

"Deathsaurus of Borg." Came the clipped reply; though a tiny fraction of his essence wondered where he'd plucked that name from.

"And what is your function?" She asked cool hands touching him slightly in ways that reminded the brief shard of a soul within of his mother's loving caress.

"Retrieve the mate." He stated with absolute resolve.

"Good." She whispered seductively into his ear; and a brief charge struck the essence within before quickly being dashed aside by the cold and impartial Deathsaurus. He knew his mission would succeed; failure was not an option, the mate would rejoin his mistress or the mate would die.

Star Trek Voyager  
War Against the Collective

The Captain and I returned to Sickbay; I felt decidedly better, but my body was starting to suffer from energy depletion, glancing at the wristwatch I wore at all times I sighed. Apparently assimilating someone took up a lot of energy; just item number eight hundred and seven on my differences between Borg and Technorganic Borg list it would seem, with a tiny sigh I knew I had to regenerate. The question was; could the child understand this and accept it, sure she had seemingly upgraded her intellectual capacity, but that didn't mean her acceptance levels would match her newfound maturity.

"She's going to need a name Ensign." The Doctor suddenly spoke up startling me. "Remember we couldn't find one; and since she seems to have bonded with you it seems only fitting you become her legal guardian and find a suitable name for her." He continued; I cocked my head briefly in thought as Seven and the child rejoined us, she was currently wearing a rather unflattering silver one piece.

"Seven; I know you mean well, but your taste in wardrobe leaves much to be desired." I remarked.

"If that is all; I shall bring her to cargo bay two." Seven returned.

"I'm afraid not Seven; Ensign Desrochers has agreed to assume full responsibility for her, besides if memory serves we currently have more Borg children then we do Regeneration alcoves." The Captain spoke up; I felt a shudder pass down my spine and I turned a great smile on my lips as the little kit leapt into my arms happy to see me unscathed.

"I'm ready to see the ship now Daddy." She stated; I sighed gently and fought the urge to yawn.

"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait until tomorrow little one." I returned. "Daddy's been confined to quarters; and he needs to regenerate." I added; she pouted slightly, but accepted my words resting her head on my shoulder.

"I must admit you've certainly taken to that." The Doc remarked. "And it's a good sign." He added with a smile; the Captain had to smile as well, while Seven remained silent. I suddenly had an epiphany as I stood there gently stroking the child's hair; she glanced up to me expectantly seeming to sense what I was about to say.

"Amy." I whispered. "I believe the name Amy suits you." I stated a little louder now for all to hear; Amy giggled and squealed with delight her link flaring openly and a swarm of bubbling joy assailing my mind.

"Oh Daddy it's perfect." She exclaimed with unbridled joy. "Amy…" She paused as though searching her memory. "Amy Desrochers." She added with a smile; I was so stunned by her words I nearly dropped her and had to choke back the urge to shout out my emotions still slightly off-kilter due to her joyful burst. Amy instantly began to cry; picking up on my discomfort easily and I rocked her gently in my arms.

"Oh no, no, no please don't cry." I pleaded searching for the right words to follow and coming up blank.

"You… don't… want…me." She hiccoughed through the tears; her words cut deeply into me, if only she knew just how wrong she was, but her innocent mind could understand only so much.

"You are wrong my little one; so very wrong." I spoke softly, soothingly; continuing to rock her back and forth. "I just wasn't expecting you to want my name; it… Flatters me." I added shooting her a winning smile. "I'm just afraid that your old man has a bit of a problem with tact." I admitted chuckling lightly at my own joke; Amy stopped crying almost at once and buried her face into my neck.

"Promise me you won't ever leave me." She pleaded taking me by surprise yet again; I glanced towards the Captain, Seven and good old Doc, they were watching this with quiet smiles of their own, well except Seven who's face remained a stoic mask.

"I'll do my best little one." I returned softly. "Now what say we show you your new home." I suggested; she sighed and nodded quietly. Without any further words I quietly and very tiredly left sickbay and headed for the nearest turbo lift; Amy still clutched in my arms, she was so filled with innocence… _I sure hope God doesn't mind if I take a passenger with me when I leave here to resume my training._

"Parenthood indeed suits young Ensign Desrochers." The Doctor remarked after the two had left; Janeway nodded her smile still showing.

"Captain is it wise to leave her with him?" Seven wondered. "When all is said and done; he is ultimately responsible for turning her into another Technorganic Borg." She added; Janeway sighed as she turned her attentions on Seven.

"Not only do I believe it's a good idea for all parties involved; I think we're going to see a decidedly calmer Ensign Desrochers from now on." She returned. "That man has been through a lot; more so then you might realize if his latest report is to be believed, and I think he deserves the chance to give happiness to himself and that little girl." Captain Janeway finished with strong conviction; Seven deferred to her wisdom with a slight nod.

"I will still keep an eye on him." She stated before taking her own leave; the Captain acknowledged her words with a tiny sigh.

"Doctor I'll need you to look over something for me before our next strategy meeting." She began turning to the EMH.

"Certainly." He returned. "What can I do for you?" He wondered.

"I need all the medical exams for Crewman Serpen on my desk at oh nine hundred." She said; the Doctor nodded, Janeway took her leave then quietly thinking over everything that had happened this evening.

* * *

Deathsaurus of Borg stood facing his assigned forces and felt the emotion disgust; disgust that these creatures would serve under him, they were limited in certain respects. They believed their collective intelligence made them perfect, but they were nothing of the kind; he was perfection, the Mate was perfection, **She** was perfection, these were merely rough copies. Pale imitations of true perfection playing at perfection; he needed so few implements to perform his task, but **they** needed a ship. And not just any ship; no, it had to be special; the first of its' kind, and so the Triangular vessel took shape rapidly before them in the confines of the space faring vessel construction facility.

"This task will prove troublesome." He whispered; the voices inside his head could faintly be heard, for he too was a part of the Collective in some small way, but much like Locutus of Borg he was special.  
Unseen by all a creature watched; vigilant, merciless in certain respects. This was Ratbat; a fictional entity given life through holographic manipulation and programming, a Decepticon with a purpose and a mission. He watched the preparations and began to consider all options for transferring his latest report to his master; for indeed he must be told, and soon.

* * *

The doors to **our** quarters flew open and Amy rushed in eager to explore her new home, I smiled as she dashed about wonder in her eyes; I was now officially a father and my soul at last felt whole. That would probably sound corny to a lot of people, but I'd come from a large family my self; and although I only had one brother I had more then enough cousins, aunts and uncles to make up for a lack of siblings. That made me desire a family all the more; I wasn't about to kid myself with thinking Serenity wanted to become Amy's mother, no our relationship was purely physical in nature. But someday I would find a woman I could be with for as long as we both shall live… Shaking aside my inner thoughts before I depressed myself with remembrances of nigh-immortality and ten-million years expected life-span; I moved over to the bed and began to prepare it for my much needed regeneration.  
Her emotions pounded in my head; driving me to distraction, but I said nothing she deserved some fun after all. Removing my shirt I used my tendrils to hang it up in the 'To Be Cleaned' section of the closet. A strange sensation crept over me and I turned to regard Amy; who was looking at me with intense eyes shooting her pupils from me to the shirt I'd just put away.

"Can I do that?" She wondered hopefully.

"I'll teach you if you like." I replied; she nodded in eagerness a large smile plastered on her face, and once again I saw the fangs. She was going to require special nourishments; being a carnivore and all, promptly she turned back to my shelf laden with replicated High-End Transformers.

I removed my pants while she was thusly pre-occupied and slipped into the refresher; going through the motions of rest preparation I spent seven point nine-three seconds brushing my teeth, washing my face and flossing. I'd gotten into the habit prior to my assimilation; access to the far advanced dental hygiene equipment alone making me put aside my carefree attitude towards proper care.  
Reaching over I slapped one of my emitters to my shoulder and activated it; this one had been programmed to give the outward illusion that I was wearing pajamas, rather then take further chances with having to leave my room in my boxers during an emergency. I chose to program several emitters with clothing specifications; though so far I'd only tested out the standard Starfleet Uniform once, during one of my shifts at Tactical.  
With a little tweaking I even managed to make it possible that everyone else felt fabric when they touched the hologram, but that I couldn't feel anything save the sensation of air on my skin; I simply had an aversion to clothing in the privacy of my own home and that small quirk had never really left me.

"Daddy; can I get that new outfit now?" Amy asked as I turned the lights off and returned to the main room; I sighed softly and shook my head.

"Sorry little one; you'll have to wait until the morning, my replicator rations are revoked and I don't have enough juice to power them independent of ships systems." I replied in an apologetic tone; she frowned.

"But." She protested silently pleading with her eyes; I wondered what was so wrong with it, Seven may not have much taste when it came to fashions, but she was more then capable of creating something functional. Until it hit me; before she'd been wearing anything I distinctly recalled a tail, afterwards the tail vanished.

"Insufficient time to program the computer for that I'd wager." I muttered more to myself then Amy; kneeling next to her I gave a gentle tug and a distinct ripping sound could be heard.

"Much better." She cooed her tail unfurling and wrapping me in a half-embrace. "Thank you Daddy." She added reaching up to peck my cheek; I smiled as a great sense of pride and accomplishment filled my very soul, someone was calling me Daddy and I could definitely get used to it.

"If you're not going to sleep right now." I began yawing as I made my way back to the bed. "Try not to be too loud ok." I requested slowly lowering myself under the covers; she tilted her head once more looking ever more like a cat with that expression and I smiled as my eyes began to feel so heavy.

Surprisingly; Amy slipped under the covers with me and nuzzled up against me once more kissing me lightly on the cheek.

"Good night Daddy." She whispered; I murmured something already drifting off, in fact I was out like a light before I knew it. Amy watched her sleeping father brushing her tiny hand through his close cropped hair; she couldn't remember much about her biological parents, but now that she was like him she had more memories then one might expect. She could remember a few snatches of details; the gentle caress of her mothers' arms, the brief touch of her fathers' lips upon her head, but that was about it.  
This man however; this soul was real, tangible and already he cared for her deeply, she could tell as much from their telepathic bond, a bond she'd created when she first spoke to him. With another tiny smile she kissed him once again on the cheek before settling down in the crook of his arm, which had moved to enfold her and prepared to go to sleep herself.  
"Thank you for giving me new life Daddy." She spoke ever so softly. "I hope I can keep you." She added innocently; knowing that one day the adults on this ship would most likely at least try to locate her biological relatives, it was something she'd picked up through the link. Closing her eyes she soon fell asleep; completely unaware that two individuals happened to be watching them, Ravage growled softly and Rumble shushed him afraid he might wake the child up.

"I don't know." He whispered to the Decepticon panther. "But if the boss is startin' to find himself a family who are we to complain; maybe she'll play with you." He added with a chuckle; Ravage made an indignant sound as if outraged at the mere thought of such a mundane action, but secretly he hoped.

To Be Continued; **AWWW, SO CUTE! That's about all I have to say about this chapter and what you should expect in many chapters to follow, for although this story is called War Against the Collective, it really centers around Alain and Amy and their growing bond of love, family and careing. And once I got started on the character of Amy I found it most difficult to tone down on the sappy family stuff and revert to action mode all of the time. 'Chuckles'**


	2. Chapter 2 The Morning After

**Author's Notes**: First off allow me to thank my reviewers personally; because of your kind words and contniuous support I find myself eager to share new chapters faster then I used to when I first started typing this massive undertaking and recieved so few reviews it was most... Daunting, so again thank you.  
Secondly; I'd like to re-iterate that I own nothing except Ensign Desrochers and Amy Desrochers... Oh yeah; and Serenity and Omnibus too, but that's a given because I doubt Star Trek would want'em. **Chuckles** Anyway; without further ado I present Chapter Two, which continues directly from Chapter One as is usually the case at the beginning of my stories.

* * *

I awoke the following morning feeling greatly refreshed, but also hearing the oddest sound; it took me a few moments to realize that Amy was purring in her sleep. The sound was soft like a cats, but slightly higher in pitch; and I smiled once again at the little girl as I cautiously stroked her hair. Gently prying myself out of her tiny grasp; tiny in comparison to Serena, I climbed out of the bed only to fall flat on my face. Glancing up at my leg I spotted her tail curled tightly around my ankle and I smirked.

"So adorabibble." I remarked pretending to be Tigger for a moment; then with a shake of my head I made my way into the fresher for a shower. The sonic shower was unique; although I still preferred to use the old water kind on occasion, the sonic shower allowed one to get clean in a fraction of the time and didn't require soap or shampoo. After I was done I slipped quietly back out into the main room and selected my uniform for the day; since I wasn't on duty at the moment I decided on casual attire, and since I was confined to quarters I realized I didn't know what I should do.  
Jacking into the replicator I bypassed any security alerts Janeway might have requested to make sure I didn't use the device as she had ordered; and began to program in a little outfit for my darling new charge. It took me a fraction of a second to program it; and instantly it appeared, then I began to consider what I was going to do about her own sleeping needs. I was interrupted from my thoughts by a beeping from my com badge followed by the Captain's voice filtering in; rather loudly in my personal opinion, but luckily Amy slept on.

"Ensign Desrochers; report to the conference room at once." She ordered; I sighed at that, was she ready to discuss my infraction with the others already.

"Acknowledged." I returned before cutting communication. "Keep an eye on her; I won't need your services for the moment Ravage." I ordered the silent watch dog; or perhaps I should say watch panther, the holographic Decepticon nodded his head and let out a low growl of understanding.

* * *

"Greetings Ensign." Tuvok stated as I entered the conference room and nodded before taking my seat; most of the others were already present, yet I noted the Captain appeared to be elsewhere once more.

"So; how's your new charge?" Tom asked with a big grin plastered on his face; I think he had trouble seeing me as the family man type.

"Just fine; she's still sleeping in our quarters." I replied my own infectious grin spreading wide across my face. "She makes the cutest little purring sound while she sleeps." I added feeling practically giddy with excitement; Tom and B'Elanna both smiled at my words and the expressions accompanying them while Tuvok raised an eyebrow in typical Vulcan fashion.

"Wonder what species she is." Harry mused just as Seven entered the room; she promptly took her seat and began to recite something from memory.

"She is Catarian from the planet Eternia, not to be confused with Ensign Wildman's husband's species the Ktarian; it is rare to see any member of her species off-world." She informed with a slightly quirked eyebrow.

"Eternia again." I moaned raising my eyes heavenwards. "I wish I had some kind of picture of it; the fact that a planet Eternia exists in this universe really shouldn't be all that surprising, but I sure hate having to compare it to the Eternia I know." I muttered openly; Neelix regarded me curiously.

"What Eternia do you know of?" He wondered with a smile. "And why does it bother you so much?" He added curiously; I sighed and searched my memory for the proper way to describe the great planet of Eternia, which I happened to know of thanks to a certain children's program.

"The Eternia of my memories is a construct from a program designed to entertain children; it coincided with a popular brand of boys toys." I began leaning forward as I spoke. "Eternia's history is vast; involving many strange and wondrous things, for Eternia is steepled in sorcery and technology both. Divided into the dark and light hemispheres; Eternia is steepled in a war not of its own creation, a dark sorcerer by the name of Keldor attempted to harness the powers of the Elders. These powers would grant him mastery of the universe, but alas a noble band of champions managed to defeat Keldor and drove his forces back into the dark hemisphere." I paused realizing I was getting a little too in-depth, but the crew were mostly riveted in their seats now; so my only option was to press onward.  
"Sealed behind the mystic wall and horribly disfigured by a vat of acid Keldor sought out the dark wizard Hordak and proceeded to cast a bargain; in exchange for saving his life, he vowed to one day free the dark one from his imprisonment within Despondos." I continued; the Doctor had joined us by now and I realized the Captain might not like me eating up valuable time. "But anyway that's beside the point and you didn't ask for a complete history either; suffice it to say it's quite an interesting series, a shame they had to cancel it due to poor management." I finished with a slight smile; Neelix shook his head as he broke into a chuckle.

"It sounds quite fascinating actually." He remarked. "Perhaps you could fill me in on the rest later on." He added as Chakotay finally arrived; the Captain's chair swiveled from its' position revealing that my earlier thought was incorrect and I felt my cheeks flushing, Captain Janeway had managed to keep her presence well hidden from me despite the openness of the room and she'd heard every word I said.

"Now that we're all here it's time to discuss this report from Ensign Desrochers." She remarked indicating the data pad resting next to her, I straightened up in my seat and glanced around wondering if the others had been given the chance to read it.

"Quite a serious report." Chakotay stated eyeing me pointedly; I sighed, for some reason I couldn't quite fathom Chakotay always seemed to be judging me, maybe it was just part of his job or something.

"No kidding." Tom muttered out of the side of his mouth. "Just what do you expect us to believe anyway Ensign; that demonic creatures do in fact exist?" He asked rolling his eyes.

"I'm surprised you aren't more open minded Tommy boy." I returned quite seriously. "Callopias was a genuine fire and brimstone level demonic entity; hell he wiped the floor with me for the most part." I added with a slight flinch at the memories of pain.

"We read the report." B'Elanna spoke up. "I think we just have a hard time accepting such creatures." She elaborated; I sighed and glanced around at the rest of the crewmen.

"Look; the point is they're after me thanks to Q, that's the bigger concern isn't it?" I asked; the Captain shook her head.

"Ensign; you handled this situation remarkably well, I'm not concerned with that, it's obvious Q has decided to target you individually now." She explained. "There's little we could to do to help even if we have fair warning; what concerns us is the two you haven't fought yet." She elaborated; I smiled at that, at least I could lay some fears to rest concerning Serenity.

"Omnibus has spoken to me; and I don't relish facing that one, his essence screams pure evil." I revealed. "We have nothing to fear from him; he won't be challenging me until Voyager eventually returns to the Alpha Quadrant." I stated; I hated having to even say that, because it meant the crew could grow overconfident just knowing that they'd get home. "As far as Serenity goes; you have nothing to worry about from her." I added with a smile; my words however didn't seem to appease the senior staff.

"How can you be so sure?" Chakotay demanded; I sighed and fidgeted slightly.

"I just can alright." I shot back failing to hide my nervousness.

"That's not good enough Ensign." The Captain stated firmly; I began to rub the bridge of my nose and tried to think of some way I could get them to back down.

"Sir; she's… Contained." I began. "Serenity renounced Omnibus and I can personally vouch for her; do we really need to drag in the reason why she's changed her ways?" I asked; Seven eyed me pointedly.

"Ensign; we're talking about a person who has the power to destroy this ship with a mere thought, and I'm using your own words here." The Captain returned indicating the data pad. "I think it would be common courtesy to inform us as to just why she's no longer a threat other then your word; especially if we have to give her something in return for her change of allegiance." She pointed out; I openly laughed at that.

"You don't have to give her anything Captain; she's already gotten what she wanted the most." I returned; the Doc leaned forward at that to address me.

"And what was that Ensign? Some of your nanoprobes perhaps; a blood sacrifice of some kind?" He wondered mocking Serenity slightly; I finally grew fed up and shot the Doc a heated glare.

"What do you think?" I snapped. "What could I possibly offer a woman that I wouldn't want to share with the crew, hmmm? Shall I spell it out for you Doc?" I demanded pushed past the breaking point; I had hoped that they would just trust my word on that part; at least I got some satisfaction as the Doctor immediately clammed up. The Captain and most of her staff actually blushed and quickly moved on to other business; I sat brooding while they discussed course corrections, alien species in the immediate area and other such things. However the bridge interrupted before anyone thought of returning to my particular subject matter; glancing up in some confusion the Captain tapped her com badge.

"Yes; go ahead." She ordered.

"We're receiving a sub-space message from a Borg ship." The unmistakable voice of Ensign Caplain reported; a hush fell over the entire room.

"Put it through." Janeway commanded; I shared a brief look with her before the link was established.

"I am Deathsaurus of Borg." A guttural voice began startling me with the use of that particular name; I recognized it from another place and time. "Charged with retrieving the mate; Voyager will surrender him to us upon our arrival in the next five weeks, or your entire crew shall be assimilated and made part of the Collective. This is the only warning we intend to give." This Deathsaurus creature stated before severing the connection; everyone was now clearly uneasy, everyone that is except me.

"Rather unusual of the Borg; giving us a time frame." Tom remarked casually trying to lighten the mood.

"Quite; a Borg vessel is capable of reaching us within two days at maximum warp." Seven agreed; I chuckled slightly and shook my head.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked. "The Queen wishes to toy with me a little; make me think I have a chance, but there's something she doesn't know." I added glancing briefly to the corner where I knew Rumble was hidden.

"And that would be?" Chakotay wondered.

"Oh." I began dismissively. "I've already taken certain steps to augment our defensive capabilities concerning the Borg." I stated.

"What steps?" The Captain demanded clearly beginning to grow concerned; I smiled a twinkle in my eye.

"I'll show you." I replied motioning for the senior staff to follow me.

* * *

"Ensign; may I inquire as to why we are in the cargo bay?" Tuvok asked several minutes later as I lugged the heavy cargo container out of the way with a gentle gravity burst.

"Mostly because I didn't want to disturb Amy." I replied finally confident with the amount of space I'd managed to clear out of the way. "She was still sleeping when I got these." I added holding up several select mobile emitters.

"What exactly is the purpose of this?" Seven asked eyeing me disinterestedly.

"Well; I sort of haven't tested all the modifications I made to these yet, so I want to make sure there's enough room in case something goes wrong." I explained marching down a straight line and placing each emitter on the deck at certain intervals; the Doctor was eyeing me curiously, I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking. "Sorry Doc; I haven't been able to duplicate your emitter since last year when I finished this one." I began holding up the last emitter I'd successfully created. "I have this strong notion that Q was behind the duplication trick; filling my head with the knowledge somehow." I elaborated placing the last emitter on the ground and stepping back.

"I thought you were going to show us your new defenses." Kim pointed out. "I didn't think holograms applied." He added smartly; I smiled and tapped in a simple command into the wristwatch, which I'd tied into these emitters when programming them.

"Watch and learn Ensign." I returned as the emitters flashed to life; one by one the programs activated revealing vessels of unimaginable complexity and design, three of them resembled strange pyramid-shaped craft, a mostly black and purple one, a mostly blue and black one and a mostly red, whitish grey and blue one. One of them was an odd fighter craft of some kind a richer purple in color; a powder blue vessel was beside it, a rounded sleeker design. The final three vehicles were a mixture; one of them was a mostly white craft of some kind with a hard tipped nosecone, another was a darker blue then the pyramid ship with black and dull gold mixed in, it appeared to be some kind of high speed pursuit craft. And the final one was a rich maroon with vertical take off and landing capabilities judging by the wings; it resembled an old Earth style jet in some aspects, but I'd recreated these three into more futuristic almost Federation-style designs.  
The last two were the oddest of the bunch; one of them was a very old audio cassette player a rich blue and silver in color and the other was a deep gunmetal grey Walther P-Thirty-Eight with silencer and rifle attachments.

"These are your defenses?" Tom blurted in complete misunderstanding. "You'll still need pilots; and just how are those two supposed to help?" He demanded indicating the non-vehicular programs; I smiled as I picked up the gun, which was closest to me and turned to the crew.

"These are no mere vessels Lieutenant." I returned smiling broader as I waved the weapon to indicate the group. "These are my ace in the hole; if you would be so kind." I added speaking obviously to the gun in my hand; it shuddered briefly and then in an amazing display of engineering feat it transformed from weapon mode into the mighty Decepticon leader, Megatron.

"Decepticons; transform!" He bellowed to his troops; with that oh so familiar sound I'd always enjoyed each vehicle converted into robot mode, these robot modes were different from the ones in the House of Mouse program, they had been scaled down into more appropriate human proportions.

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize them right off the bat, but then again I did alter their superstructures to incorporate a more Cybertronian oriented vehicular form." I spoke up as the senior staff eyed these programs warily. "Unlike their cousins on the holodeck; these versions possess mass-conversion technology that allows them to remain smaller while aboard ship. But when the time comes to do battle against the Borg cube; or whatever shaped vessel she sends after me, they can enlarge themselves to their full size." I began to explain my voice filled with pride at my accomplishment. "Each of them has been fully programmed for combat; their weapons are perfectly capable of damaging the Borg, and that was not easy to do with these programs, I had to re-write their entire safety protocols just to get them to the lethal levels required for dealings with the Borg." I elaborated all the while smiling at my creations; who had yet to say one word, Starscream was sneering though, I had given them personalities based on their television show counterparts after all having nothing better to work with.

"Ensign; this is a most impressive accomplishment." The Captain returned. "But I refuse to sink to such a level as this; we can handle the Borg without your little toys." She added.

"But, Captain…" I began to plead.

"I'm sorry Ensign; shut them down." She ordered; I frowned at that, couldn't she see the brilliance in my decision? The tactical genius; the Borg could no more adapt or be prepared for holographic opponents then they could survive a direct blast from Megatrons' fusion cannon.

"Captain; might I point out that the Ensigns' ideas may prove necessary in the long run." Tuvok spoke up coming to my defense. "Logically his tactical decision is sound." He added.

"It doesn't matter Tuvok; Ensign Desrochers." She insisted; I sighed in defeat and turned to the Decepticons.

"Revert to alternate mode." I ordered.

"You would obey this weak willed flesh-creature instead of using us to force her into compliance?" Megatron demanded; I glared at him.

"I may not have any qualms with using your tactics against the Borg, but she is my Captain and this is my home; comply with my orders or I'll reprogram you into an Autobot!" I snapped; Megatron glowered, but did as instructed. Once they'd returned to alternate mode I depressed the switch on my watch yet again and soon only the emitters remained; turning to the others I sighed once again.

"We'll find another way Ensign." She reiterated; Tom and some of the others could see how much I felt about this, as the senior staff dismissed for breakfast B'Elanna of all people approached me and offered me a show of encouragement squeezing my shoulder, I smiled gratefully at her and began to collect the emitters.

"I told ya you should have shown us first." Rumble stated appearing beside me now that I was alone. "The others are a lot more dauntin'." He added as Laserbeak alighted on my shoulder; I sighed dejectedly but still managed a smile.

"She'll come around; the Borg will force her hand, or I'll find a way to convince her. It's only a matter of time." I whispered scratching Laserbeak under his chin; the mechanical condor cawed slightly shifting into the touch happily, it wasn't easy with him being so big.

"Whatever ya say boss, but for your sake I hope she changes her mind awfully quick; accordin' ta Ratbat we're gonna need all the firepower we can get." He returned with a shrug before he began to move the containers back to where they were, I sighed thoughtfully and followed suit knowing he was right, for a hologram.

* * *

"Oh Daddy; I love it!" Amy cried twirling around to show off her outfit; it was a white top with a matching short blue skirt cut open in the back slightly to allow her tail free motion, there was even a pair of black shoes specifically designed for her feet. I smiled as the little girls enthusiasm flowed into my mind and chased away tumultuous thoughts I had.

"I thought you might." I remarked moving over to the desk and returning my holo-'cons' emitters. "Now; why don't we make you your very own bed?" I suggested.

"Do we have to?" She asked with a tremble added to her pout for good measure; I smiled at her affectionate emotions and knelt down to her level.

"Yes we have to; you can't just share Daddy's bed all the time." I returned hinting that I might let her sleep with me again if she listened to me; a sense of relief flooded my emotional center, I couldn't believe how afraid she'd been about having to sleep in her own bed.

"Ok." She relented with a tiny sigh as she moved in to hug me.

"Good." I began heading over to the replicator; I'd program it here into the computer and have the industrial sized version do the work on the bed, the Captain hadn't revoked any of my punishments yet, but that didn't mean she'd toss me in the brig for seeing to Amy's needs. "Now; what kind of bed should it be?" I asked eyeing her expectantly; she seemed to perk up at the question almost immediately.

"Can it be…" She paused fearful of a response judging by the emotions I was reading in our link; I was going to have a hard time getting used to having her in my mind, but a part of me actually enjoyed it, it offered me something other parents couldn't enjoy. "Anything I want?" She finally asked eager and nervous all at the same time.

"Anything you want." I replied with an infectious smile; she squealed in delight clapping her hands, which I noticed for the first time didn't have actual finger nails, and I found an image implanted into my mind. This was what she wanted; she couldn't accurately describe it because she was still adjusting to her new level of intelligence and understanding. I examined the mental picture from all sides; with a curt nod I jacked into the replicator and established a neural link, instantly the pattern was recorded. The industrial sized replicator down in the shuttle bay created the bed and the computer alerted me to it's' completion; it was amazing how fast this process could be, with a carefully requested command the bed was transported into our bedroom.  
Amy smiled happily and leapt upon the bed nuzzling it; unlike mine this construct was spherical in nature, it still had all the basic functions of my own regen-bed, but it had been fabricated to meet her needs. It was mostly a dark forest green in color; and had the distinction of looking like an oversized patch of moss, there was no pillow, I guess she didn't need one, but there was a light comforter patterned into the shape of a small field of flower petals.

"It's perfect Daddy." She whispered happily nuzzling the super soft material. "Very soft." She added with a content sigh. "It feels like…Home." She admitted swiftly turning to me and leaping into my arms; her pleasure was immense and I found myself smiling happily as I caught her, she buried her face into my shoulder and I stroked her hair gently.

"You're welcome sweetie." I returned softly for some reason I felt even more strongly about keeping her at that moment; no matter what I was going to make sure that wherever I wound up next, she would be by my side.

"Daddy; I'm hungry." She admitted her fangs glistening slightly as the light caught them in a certain way; I chuckled as my own stomach rumbled just then.

"Then let's eat, because I'm starving myself." I stated shifting her in my arms so I could carry her better; then I strode swiftly out of our quarters and headed off to the mess hall, her tail curled up around my waist as we walked and I patted her back briefly to show my affection.

To Be Continued; **I cut it off here because I felt too much sweetness scenes with Amy would give you all cavities, that plus I haven't quite finished typing the whole thing and I don't want to reach the part where scenes are missing too soon thus negating my update material. Anyway; please R&R and let me know what you think of darling little Amy, or Al's little ideas about dealing with the Borg, more Decepticons are so much fun to play with I just had to add them... In the nextchapter Amy get's to meet Serenity, Megan and Jenny and will recieve a tour of her new home, plus there could very well be more surprises in store, you'll just have to stick around to find out.**


	3. Chapter 3 Mealtime with Amy

**Author's Notes:** Merry Christmas; or insert holiday equivalent here, today I give you the gift of a new chapter, a wonderful update featuring more of Al and Amy, father and daughter in their first meal together. Cheerio... And enjoy.

* * *

"Good morning Al; or I should say afternoon." Neelix greeted with a smile. "Why hello there Amy; here for breakfast I see." He added smiling broadly as I led Amy up to the food trays and handed her one. "Might I suggest the Eternian Shral beast, to experience a native dish from your home planet?" Amy made a sour face at that and reached for the Gahk instead; I in turn grimaced with distaste and selected the Terran roasted ham sandwich with coleslaw and potato salad. Amy regarded me with cocked head and reluctantly picked up the same meal.

"You can have the Gahk if you want to Amy." I informed.

"That's ok Daddy I changed my mind." She insisted with a smile patiently waiting for me to lead her to a table; I spotted Serena sitting near the view port and moved to join her, as we sat down I helped Amy place her tray on the table while she fidgeted around so her tail wouldn't be squashed. She began to eat quietly as I had and looked up at me studying my mannerisms without my knowledge; Serena glanced between us with a smile as she caught the child mimicking me, Megan and Jenny suddenly approached us and both broke into a wide grin.

"So this is the adorable little girl you've gotten." Jenny cooed as she sat beside Serena with a friendly smile offered to the other woman. "You know if you wanted to have kids all you had to do was ask." She teased speaking in a lower tone, I felt my face grow hot at her remark and I desperately tried to ignore the innuendo.

"I'm afraid I'd get first dibs if that proved the case." Serena returned with a grin; Megan eyed her curiously while Jenny continued to study my new charge.

"So what's your name little cutie?" Megan asked addressing the girl; Amy was feeling quite pleased with all the attention she appeared to be getting.

"Amy Desrochers." She replied proudly causing me to choke on the drink I'd taken a sip from; I kept sputtering and coughing while Amy eyed me with growing disappointment and sorrow, recovering from my shock I wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Please don't cry little one; I'm sorry if I upset you, but I'm still not used to that just yet…" I paused as I looked her in the eyes and sighed softly. "I never thought I'd ever have children to be honest; and now I've got you in my life and…" I trailed off a strange feeling overcoming me as I chocked back the words I wanted to say for fear of upsetting her all the more, she smiled happily and returned my embrace ten-fold.

"Oh Daddy; I love you too." She whispered curling her tail around my waist again and closing her eyes shedding a few tears; I felt relief and joy at those words and my earlier feelings seemed to melt away.

"Boy; he's one great guy." Jenny remarked with a smile.

"And I'm one lucky woman." Serena whispered gently reaching out a hand and squeezing mine; I smiled at her lovingly, although it felt a little forced and yet she didn't seem to mind as if she knew something I didn't.

"So Amy; how do you like the ship?" Megan asked turning the train of conversation from the sappy to the more practical; Amy scrunched up her brow in thought and shrugged.

"I haven't seen that much of it, but Daddy's quarters are nice. He's got lots' of fun things." She replied happily returning to her meal.

"Fun things?" Jenny repeated a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Like what?"

"Oh he's got lots of stuff; toys, funny looking stuffed animals… At least I think that's what they're called; oh and he's got this neat looking pink hover board." Amy rattled off without thought; I choked on my drink a second time, for an entirely different reason and hastily spoke up.

"That's a prop." I exclaimed perhaps a little too loudly judging by the amused smiles gracing Serena's, Jenny's and Megan's faces.

"A prop for what?" Megan wondered in a sly tone.

"Uh; well, it's… Back to the Future." I replied in a low dejected mumble.

"What's that?" Jenny wondered clearly confused.

"Er; well." I began to stammer.

"It's an old Earth movie from the nineteen eighties." Tom supplied as he appeared out of the blue joining us with B'Elanna. "And I don't blame you for recreating something from them; they were pretty good movies." He added with a great big nostalgic smile.

"You'll have to share it with us some time." Megan insisted; I nodded in response to that and realized that I'd finished eating.

"So why don't you let us give Amy a tour of the ship?" Jenny suggested with a smile. "We'd love to get to know your new daughter better." She added bowling me over with those words; I hadn't really thought of it like that before, but it was true for all intents and purposes Amy was **my** daughter. Amy shot me an eager look; she wanted to see the ship and as much of it as possible, and yet since we were sharing minds on some level she knew I had a duty shift to attend to.

"Of course you may; enjoy yourself little one." I returned with a warm smile squeezing her in a half-embrace. "I've got that duty shift in engineering if I'm not mistaken; unless the Captain decided to change her mind about my punishment and wants me stuck in my quarters permanently." I added with a slight grin aimed at the others; B'Elanna shook her head.

"I think she's going to talk to you about that after your shift is over and lighten the load a little. I trust you'll put a hundred percent into your work." She returned with a slight scowl, which I knew was just for show.

"Of course Lieutenant." I shot back good naturedly; the sisters beamed as they climbed to their feet, Amy happily hopped to her feet and rushed around the table to give each of them a grateful hug, she was certainly affectionate. I climbed to my feet and gathered up our empty dishes; returning them to where they belonged, Serena accompanied me briefly giving me a kiss when I wasn't expecting it.

"I'll meet you back at your quarters for dinner tonight ok; I'd like to do something special for her too." She whispered before taking her leave; I smiled at that, but now was the time to get to work. Fatherhood was a nice twist; I had never really considered it that much, but now here I was with a beautiful little girl, nothing would take her from me especially not the Borg.

"Watch her." I whispered so softly I knew only one being could hear me; the invisible Ravage made a very low growl of acknowledgement and broke from his position as my shadow following Amy and the twins out of the mess hall. "Janeway will come around Rumble; of this I am most certain." I added repeating my earlier thought from this morning; and then I slipped out of the mess hall and headed for engineering, this ship couldn't take care of itself after all.

* * *

Megan slowed briefly as several crewmen walked past the trio; it certainly seemed to be a busy day, the Captain was running drills on Borg attacks. Jenny scooped up Amy before she could get run over and eyed her sister with a sigh; Megan shrugged and led the duo into the turbo lift.

"Where should we go next?" She asked the little girl; Amy had been goggling at everything, from the cargo bays and holodeck two to sickbay, she had yet to see the engines though or even the bridge… She was also a little worried about going to engineering while her daddy was there, though the twins didn't know this; finally Amy made up her mind.

"I want to see the bridge." She requested turning so she could look Megan in the eyes; Jenny smiled.

"I'm sure the Captain won't mind." She stated; Megan nodded.

"The bridge it is." She exclaimed and the turbo lift took off; within seconds they were at their destination, Amy still wasn't used to the speeds of these turbo lifts. They left the small confines of the twenty fourth century elevator and Amy's eyes darted all about the room; this was her first time ever seeing such a sight, after all she'd been a baby until yesterday. A few crewmen eyed the twins briefly and smiled as they saw the little girl in her cute little outfit; Amy was startled when Chakotay approached her, a smile on his lips.

"Hello, I see you're getting to know the ship." He remarked; Amy smiled shyly back, but didn't say anything, she was a little nervous.

"Excuse me sir; I think you'd better see this." Harry called from his station; Chakotay nodded and quickly strode over to the station, Jenny and Megan decided that perhaps they should find somewhere else to go, but Amy had spotted the captain's chair. She approached it cautiously; Captain Janeway wasn't there, Amy frowned and glanced around her nose actually twitching slightly.

"Helm plot a course to avoid this sector." Chakotay spoke up from Harry's station. "We don't want to encroach on their territory." He added referring to whatever it was the scanners had picked up; Amy found the ready room entrance and took a deep breath, she didn't really know what to do.

"Amy what are you doing?" Megan called finally noticing the girl had gotten away from them.

"I… Just wanted to say hi to the Captain." She returned with a weak smile; Megan smiled slightly and nodded, Amy took that as a yes so she reached up and knocked at the door.

"Come in." Janeway's muffled voice called out; Amy stepped into sensor range and allowed the doors to open, she stepped nervously inside.

"Why hello Amy; what brings you here?" She asked a broad smile spreading across her features; Amy smiled back nervously.

"I just wanted to say hi; and thank you for letting me stay with my daddy." The little girl returned glancing around slightly. "Wow." She whispered as her eyes fell upon the moving stars outside; Janeway smiled.

"You're very welcome Miss Desrochers." She returned; Amy beamed at the use of her father's name, before the Captain could say anything else she was pounced upon and ensnared in a hug.

"Please don't take him away from me." She whispered; the Captain was stunned, and without realizing it a tear slid down her cheek as she realized just how connected the two had become. She couldn't explain it; the feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach, perhaps it was a remnant of her own offspring from when she and Tom had been hyper evolved during the trip past the warp ten thresholds.

"I'll do everything I can to make certain you stay together as a family." She returned gently pushing the child aside. "But I'm afraid we are obligated to locate your family and let them share in the decision making." She added; Amy sighed slightly as she hopped back down prepared to leave.

"I know Captain… But I'm scared, what if they take me away?" She asked doing her best not to cry; Janeway offered a warm smile in return.

"It'll be some time before we reach that crossroad." She admitted. "I wouldn't worry so much; once they see how attached the two of you have become I'm certain they'll make the right choice." She stated; Amy recovered from her sorrowful state quite abruptly and giggled.

"I bet my daddy will love getting to know them…" She trailed off with tilted head. "Oh; I'd better finish seeing the ship with Megan and Jenny, daddy's shift is almost over and I want to see the engines." She stated before rushing out of the room; Captain Janeway shook her head, that girl was most definitely going to take a little getting used to.

* * *

At oh eighteen thirty I met the Captain in her ready room as she had requested; she was sitting on the couch in the corner sipping a cup of coffee and gazing out at the stars, a part of me felt a hint of familiarity with that image, but I quickly dismissed it. Turning to acknowledge my presence she smiled slightly and indicated a data pad on her desk; picking it up I glanced at it briefly skimming the contents, I was clearly surprised at the amount of detail.

"Mister Neelix began searching for information as soon as he discovered what planet she's from; her surviving relatives aren't many, but they're all there." She began in a soft tone; a part of me felt sick to my stomach, until I noticed just how far Eternia was to our current position. At least it would still take several months or so just to reach it; and even then I'd probably have to go with her to help explain things.

"A matriarchal society; the women are in charge, interesting." I remarked trying to cling to a casual tone and partially succeeding; this was only the second day I had her in my life, and already I wanted to keep her for the rest of my days. "I hope that doesn't mean she'll be taking charge of the family when she gets' older." I quipped making light of such a serious situation; the Captain seemed to understand my reasons and chose not to address it.

"Your confinement to quarters is lifted; I spoke with the senior staff after your little show and they all agree you were acting with noble intentions." She informed; I nodded at that, what could I possibly say. It was true; and even though I committed a horrible violation in certain respects, I was not the Collective and it wasn't like I'd be doing it again.  
"Your replicator rations are still revoked for three weeks though; however I am issuing several days worth of rations for Amy, so you can provide her with a wardrobe and whatever else she may require." She continued climbing to her feet and moving around her desk; I smiled at her thoughtfulness, but then again it was practical. "The holodeck punishment I issued you will remain in effect until I've made up my mind one way or the other." She added taking a seat; I nodded.

"Understood Captain; will there be anything else?" I asked; Janeway smiled and placed her cup down steepeling her fingers together she leaned forward.

"Ensign I know what you'll be going through for a time; and I know this information can't be good for you." She stated indicating the data pad. "But her family has the right to at least see her again; and make up their minds what should be done about her, I'm sorry, but that's standard policy when children are involved." She spoke softly; attempting to assure me that she wouldn't force the issue, but that she wanted to be certain I understood everything, I sighed softly and fell into the seat across from her.

"I fully understand Captain, but…" I trailed off trying to find the words to properly express myself. "That possessive side of me you saw yesterday; it's not going away any time soon, I have this bond with the child even though I've known her, but a single full day." I stated resisting the urge to break into a rage; the Captain smiled gently and reached out a hand to clasp my shoulder.

"Believe it or not Ensign I know what you must be going through; it's never easy to adopt a child and then find out you might have to let them go." She returned; I smiled at her words, adoption was what I'd done I supposed, but who could say for certain. "Now; instead of moping around my ready room why don't you go enjoy dinner with your new charge, I'm certain everything will work out for the two of you, remember you have someone watching over you." She added; I chuckled at that.

"Would that be Q or God?" I wondered in a semi-playful tone. "Because either way I don't exactly feel any more confident in my prospects; oh I know God loves me, I felt it, but I don't know how she'd feel about certain things going on right now." I added in an attempt to defend my words; perhaps even seek some form of redemption, the Captain didn't say anything in return and I climbed back to my feet. With a brief nod of farewell I took my leave, wondering what Serena might be doing.

* * *

"He can't take her with her right away." She said in a deeply saddened tone. "Q; perhaps we made a mistake." She added; Q shook his head a merry twinkle in his eyes.

"Relax; your chosen one won't be missing her long, I've been peeking ahead just a little, you know popping into different timelines in his training regimen." Q informed smiling widely. "I'm sure you know what's coming next; relax, I've already got a plan." He added.

"Ah yes; I know, but it still will break his heart, and I don't like causing my children pain no matter how much it might seem otherwise." She returned; Q shook his head once more and decided he had some other things to tend to, there was nothing he could say to her that would help her feel any better in the long run. She sighed and returned to watching the child; she was sitting patiently in her room waiting for her father to return, smiling at the innocence that she never truly grew tired of she gently reached out a tiny fragment of her essence and briefly brushed the child.  
"You are now one of my children as well; by extension of your father, and I shall keep my eye upon you and ensure your safety." She stated seemingly for no reason; the other, always silent in his observations of these events turned from the display and instead studied what his own children were up to.

"This is taking too long; together we can only keep the natural flow of time from transpiring only for a short time, I fear he may not be ready in time." He whispered afraid for what could very well happen to the balance that had long been maintained by his children who had renounced their wicked ways. "Perhaps just in case I should prepare my own chosen heralds." He mused silently.

* * *

Serena beamed proudly as I took my first bite of her prepared meal; I mentally steeled myself for what could very well turn into a disaster, but instead I found myself pleasantly surprised. Shooting her a warm smile I promptly took a second bite; knowing that sometimes words just weren't enough to express one's delight with something, she smiled in turn and let out a soft sigh.

"This is yummy Aunt Serenity." Amy spoke up; Serena turned to the child with a startled look.

"What did you call me?" She wondered; Amy smiled.

"Aunt Serenity; Daddy's mind is open to me." She returned straight forwardly; Serena grew a little nervous glancing between us.

"All of it?" She wondered; Amy laughed lightly and took another bite, I smiled encouragingly at Serena.

"It's ok right, I mean she has to call you something, but I don't think you'd appreciate being called mommy." I pointed out; Serena laughed openly and proceeded to dig in herself.

"Quite right; however I've never known a child to call her father's girlfriend Aunt before." She returned pointedly; I blushed a little at that, if only she knew some of the weird fantasies some people on my Earth had, a brother and sister making love to one another was considered taboo. I never went in for it, but… _Why am I even thinking like that? Amy can hear every word and thought I have; oh God!_

"_It's ok Daddy; I won't tell if you won't."_ She thought spoke to me grinning a little; I sighed, I was going to have to be mindful of what I was thinking about from now on, unless.

"Amy; do you think you could sever our link when Daddy needs alone time?" I wondered; Amy eyed me thoughtfully seeming to understand what I meant by the term, cocking her head to one side she closed her eyes and suddenly I felt an emptiness, her presence was gone.

"Yes Daddy." She simply replied before resurrecting the link, which elicited a relieved sigh from me; for some reason being separated had been the worst sensation I'd ever felt, which meant there were probably going to be side effects because of all this.

"What did the Captain want?" Serena asked; I turned to her with a soft smile.

"Just a few words concerning my punishment; and… Well it's something I'd rather not dwell upon." I returned focusing squarely on the meal and clamming up, I seriously hated those little nagging doubts about my status as Amy's adopted father; and I felt like ignoring them right now rather then dealing with them.

"I guess this means we can't go on the holodeck then." She returned with a lamented sigh; I chuckled a little at that.

"Actually my privileges are reserved for accompanying people as a guest only; I think however she meant for those big parties that Neelix always throws, or something like hanging out with the Delaneys, I hardly think she meant what you had in mind." I stated with a slight smirk; it was Serena's turn to blush this time and Amy giggled before taking a sip of her juice, she had originally wanted soda pop like I was having, but I managed to convince her to take the juice.

"Not in front of the child." She hissed softly; I shook my head and continued to smirk.

"Face it Serenity you're just going to have to get used to her being around from now on, which means I think we'll have to…" I trailed off with a cough as I realized what I'd almost said; Serena sighed and shot me a sexy pout.

"This is seriously going to interfere with my sex life isn't it?" She asked although in a rhetorical vein; I choked back the urge to reply and shot Amy a fearful look, I needn't have bothered, Amy was quietly doing her best to ignore us.

"Daddy can I play with the other children tomorrow?" She asked; I shook my head.

"Sorry Amy; I think Seven's got plans for them for now, but you could always play with Naomi." I pointed out; Amy smiled as memories of Naomi were shared and she curled her tail around my waist in a slight embrace.

"She's the closest I have to a sister." She stated bluntly; I smiled at that thought, it was true I supposed, after all Naomi was my **little bit**, but that couldn't compare to being my **little one**.

"Yes; still I wouldn't say that in front of Samantha, she might get the wrong impression." I requested; Amy nodded and hopped off her seat rushing over to the toy shelf, she promptly snatched up one of the replicated Transformers I'd created over the years and studied it now that she had the opportunity.  
"Grimlock." I called out informing her as to his name; she nodded ever so slightly and proceeded to snatch up another one awed by the intricate detailings, I smiled and returned to finishing up my meal.

"I think you'll enjoy dessert." Serena quipped with a smile. "I made your favorite." She added eliciting a big grin from me, yes; life was good right this moment and nothing could destroy that, or so I hoped… _The Captain just has to let me activate those programs; if I can't use the Decepticons to stop the Borg, they might get their claws into Amy and I wouldn't wish that on anyone._ I was careful to shield Amy from these dire thoughts; for after all, I needed the practice if I was going to avoid sharing every little thought and dream with her.

* * *

Serena's Personal Log: The new addition to his life seems to be most agreeable with him; by which I mean of course that he's taken to parenting so readily, all of those years with Naomi must have helped prepare him for this step. Jenny and I have been spending a little time together; I'm still not used to keeping my inner thoughts in this log thing, but Al said sometimes it was therapeutic to get them off my chest, so I started recording them.  
I really couldn't do much in Engineering; I may be a Goddess, but science or at least Human science isn't one of my strong suits. So the new duty shifts I've taken upon myself to perform mostly involve ships security and a little counseling, since Voyager doesn't have a ships' counselor people need to have somebody they can confide in. And I am very qualified for that; so many problems, some of the crew are so over stimulated from lack of sexual intercourse they're having a very hard time working in such close proximity to one another; the Captain has allowed me to prescribe certain therapies to help cope with this.  
The easiest of course being the holodeck; I've actually managed to get Al to help me create a few programs that I believe are sorely needed, some of the males on this ship can be rather dominant and unfortunately have developed unhealthy affixations with certain fantasies.

It's pretty amazing how readily they accept opening up to me, but then again I am perhaps slightly guilty of using my Goddess gifts to help push them a little; of course it's all for their mental health. And who could be more qualified then an actual Goddess to help deal with such things? Just the other day I had a very surprising session with Ensign Kim; he's been missing a woman for a long time from Earth, which is partially why all his dates turn out so poorly, he's been sabotaging them. I told him that if this woman truly loved him enough she would keep hoping; though I shouldn't have I even offered to go to Earth personally and talk to her, he turned me down though saying it wouldn't be right.

Actually the Captain herself approached me just this morning to ask about that; she also said that she didn't want the entire crew to know about it, which is fine by me, only the senior staff, Al, Amy and Jenny Delaney even know what I truly am. I have a feeling that if some of the regular crewmen knew that I could travel to Earth without so much as a second thought they'd be making so many demands of me I'd never get the chance to spend time with my lover boy.  
He's still having a hard time coming to terms with our relationship actually; and that hurts me a little, he's got such a big heart that he hates the thought I could wind up being hurt because there's no true love between us, but if I wanted love I'd still be searching for it and not having great sex. Being appointed official ships counselor has one other advantage; I now have my own gossip to share with Jenny, oh mostly tame stuff though, I'd never dream of destroying their trust in me, but after all I've gone millions of years without anyone to talk to, just girl talk and I need my sessions. Oh; it's time for my session with Ensign Bristow, computer end recording.

To Be Continued; **In the next thrilling chapter, nightmares, visions and Decepticons! Be here in five or seven days, whichever comes first.**


	4. Chapter 4 Debriefing with theDecepticons

**Author's Notes: **HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's the first day of the new year, it is the year 2006 and so I give another update; one that should be most enjoyable, or so I would trust... Captain Janeway, prepare to interact with... The Decepticons!

* * *

Amy smiled happily as she walked upon the beach; she'd only been in my life a short time now and already I'd begun to feel a strong connection with her, I watched her as she experienced sand upon her bare toes for the first time. It was night time; I didn't trust these Fair Haven folk not to go jumping to any conclusions concerning my new charge and her unique appearance, in point of fact we shouldn't even be on the holodeck. Alas my little one had grown tired of being cooped up in our quarters; and this was the only place on the ship she hadn't seen yet. 

"Oh Daddy; this is wonderful." She proclaimed happily. "And you can create anything you want?" She wondered curiously.

"Pretty much." I replied with a smile; Amy giggled as the surf tickled her feet, I felt a sense of peace and calm wash over me as I watched the young girl. We spent the whole night simply enjoying each other's company; and the new experiences, and then we returned to our quarters for regeneration.

* * *

Alain tossed in his sleep a darkness clouding his features; little Amy slept soundly unaware of the nightmare plaguing her father, Serena however stirred in her sleep and awoke sensing the disturbance. Glancing over to her lover she eyed him with concern; he was whimpering in his sleep and she knew it took a great deal to faze the man, whatever was troubling him was something big.

* * *

The dream was vast; immeasurable, I found myself fighting a current of images, emotions trying vainly to reach the shining light that was Amy from so far down into the darkness; voices whispered in my head. Shadowed memories left over from my time briefly connected to the hive mind; they demanded my attention, however hard I fought them. My light grew fainter until without warning an even blacker darkness enveloped it; I felt great despair and fear as the hive mind grew silent, bolts of pure dark energy exploded all around the shadowed forms I found myself surrounded by. Drones exploded under the assault and even the queen died; her body melting into the inky blackness that was our attacker, I saw no shape and no form, but I heard Amy pleading for my help.  
And yet I despaired for there was nothing I could do; not even my own inner light would respond, I tried in vain, and failed to recreate Justice… All hope was lost and before the dream could reach any sort of conclusion I found myself waking up in a cold sweat gasping for breath. 

"No." I rasped clutching at my head. "NO!" I cried louder only to have a hand clamp over my mouth.

"Shhh; you'll wake her up." Serena hissed from beside me; I slumped into her arms and broke into tears, the nightmare was a plague, one I could not escape since first inception.

"She was taken; she was hurting and I couldn't save her." I whispered choking back the sobs; Serena comforted me knowing what I meant instinctively.

"It was only a dream." She insisted; I pushed back from her embrace and shook my head harshly.

"No, not a dream, not a nightmare… A vision." I insisted; it was true, ever since claiming my birthright I had begun to have strange half-dreams that meant little to no sense. I saw spiders changing into men and swinging about cityscapes; shadows that held blades of light, not of metal and even dark creatures that fought a blond blur. These dreams were trying to tell me something; what that was I couldn't even begin to understand, but I knew they were visions and not mere flights of fancy, as a Technorganic Borg I didn't dream as I did while a mere human.

"Are you sure?" She asked softly, concern clear in her tone; I sighed and gently nodded. "Then maybe you should let the others know; or at least try to convince your Captain that we need those pets of yours." She insisted; I sighed exhaustion overtaking me.

"I…" I trailed off wondering what to say to that. "I just can't think of any way to convince her." I finally settled on. "I am so tired." I added looking upon her with a deeply haggard expression.

"Then sleep in my arms tonight." She suggested; I eyed her disbelievingly.

"How's that going to help?" I demanded. "The vision will still come again; experience has taught me that." I added bitterly.

"Not if you slept within the arms of a Goddess." She returned gently; I couldn't believe what she was saying, she was willing to reveal her true form to me, something I had yet to witness. She smiled at my expression and gently cradled me in her arms; though it didn't feel the least bit motherly, more like a lover seeking to protect her man. As I shifted to accommodate myself better her body seemed to change; it grew larger and I felt a light touch upon my bare back as her feathery wings tickled me, a blissful smile spread across my face as I took in her true form.

"A pity we're only physically interested in one another; I could get used to waking up to this." I admitted; she blushed a little and shushed me.

"Go to sleep sexy." She returned softly; with a great big yawn I did as she bade promptly tumbling into a blissful sleep.

* * *

The following morning Serena and I ventured forth; now was the time to convince the Captain that unless we started preparing the Decepticons we could very well wind up failing. The senior staff was short handed today; Chakotay, Neelix, Tom and Harry had gone off on a mission to gather much needed supplies. Of course I knew from the television show that they would be encountering a large synaptic transmitter on the planet Tarakis. Which would lead into events from the episode Memorial; however there really wasn't much I could do about that, no my main focus must be the holo-'cons. 

"Good morning Ensign." The Captain greeted as the two of us sat down at their table; since nothing vitally important needed to be discussed she had decided to hold the morning staff meeting in the mess hall today.

"And who might this be?" Seven asked eyeing Serena uncertainly; out of all the senior staff only a few had yet to meet my lover in person yet, Seven and B'Elanna being some of them.

"Serenity." I replied softly; I was anxious to get under way, but I didn't want to press the issue.

"She doesn't look like a Goddess." B'Elanna remarked with a snort; Serena glared at the woman and would have said something if I had not intervened.

"She is in the guise of a human while she remains aboard Voyager." I returned. "But trust me; her true form is quite spectacular." I added with a knowing sigh of remembrance; Serena blushed and averted her gaze, compliments were still new to her.

"We did not come to discuss me." She reminded turning her gaze upon the others as she sat beside me; I sighed deeply and nodded acceding to her words.

"Captain I wish to discuss my… Defenses." I began turning my gaze to the senior staff; Tuvok quirked his eyebrow at that and Seven shot me a slight look of disbelief.

"I believe I made my decision perfectly clear last time." The Captain returned; with a low growl I nodded, but would not give up.

"I understand your inhibitions Captain, but you do not understand where my beliefs are coming from." I stated; raising a hand to dissuade any rebuttals. "For the past two years I have been suffering greatly; terrible visions come to me in the night as I sleep, and I know emphatically that they are not dreams or mere nightmares." I elaborated revealing a secret I had long since kept; even from my own personal logs, no one knew about the horrors in my head.

"Visions." The Doc repeated incredulously. "I find that hard to believe Ensign." He returned.

"Doctor; these are not merely hallucinations or some trick of the mind, they are directly linked to my powers. The gift that God gave me." I stated with certainty; the Captain eyed me clearly understanding that I believed what I was saying, she paused in her eating and regarded me deeply.

"What are they visions of?" She wondered curious now; a deep rooted fear surfaced briefly and I lowered my voice so only the senior staff could hear me.

"The Collective." I stated. "Despair, falling, being reclaimed and consumed… This vision changes to reflect events in my life; at first it was just a simple fear, of being forced back to the Collective…" I paused reaching out for Serena for support; her hand found mine and squeezed it gently, her eyes urging me to speak openly. "Later visions of darkness consuming the Collective joined those of my own failure to remain separated, Omnibus did not take on physical form, but his presence was felt. He consumed all; including the Collective and I could not access my gift to stop him because I was shackled to the queen." I paused once again steeling myself for what I saw last night; the first time I had seen it, and it still sent shivers down my spine.  
"It has changed since then; last night was the first change in months… A light; my light, my little one… Abducted by the darkness that is Omnibus; consumed by the darkness, crying out in fear for her father to swoop in and save her… I." I trailed off unable to say any more; tears escaped my eyes then and I lowered my head ashamed at this display, Serena gently caressed my cheek and kissed me once imparting new strength through her lips.

"I fail to see how your holographic creations can help prevent this vision from coming true." Tuvok stated matter of factly; I shifted my gaze upon him a snarl escaping my lips, my emotions were slightly off kilter.

"Don't you get it; if I do nothing to help stop the Collective's little pet, then Deathsaurus will most likely succeed in his mission and this time I will lose my individuality." I snapped; Tuvok allowed no sign of his feelings to appear, as was the norm and I could not gauge what he might be thinking of this revelation. "But with them; my little toys as you put it, the fool will fall, the Queen will cease her attempts at reclaiming me and I shall be free to end Omnibus." I stated with strong conviction; Seven regarded me uncertainly, B'Elanna fearfully and the Doc dispassionately, but the Captain. She was stoic; deep in thought her lips pursed and her eyes unfocused, she knew that I did not take things lightly when it concerned my mistress.

"Ensign; I do not change my mind lightly, if we were to implement your strategy for this new Borg threat can we count on you to erase those programs if they get out of hand?" She requested; I eyed her with a new hope and tilted my head to the side in thought.

"My Decepticons were never meant to be a permanent thing Captain; at least not the large scale versions." I returned; she eyed me curiously and I sighed. "I should have revealed them sooner I suppose; Rumble." I called out; the stealth mode flickered and the little red and black Cassetticon appeared to my left, the Captain was clearly not amused.

"It's about time; I was gettin' sick and tired of keepin' my mouth shut." He retorted pulling out a chair and taking a seat propping his feet up on the table; I shot him a glare and he instantly shifted into a more polite position.

"These simpler programs have been online for quite some time Captain; I needed to test out their stealth protocols, and I also wanted to keep a closer eye on the Collective, so I needed one of them to get aboard Unimatrix One." I stated. "Most of the others have been keeping a low profile; some of them have been relaying all of the data from the Federation data base to the others, while a few have been working towards enhancing the offenses and defenses… I'm sorry I know I shouldn't have taken the initiative, but… Well there is no excuse for my breach in protocol." I stated; Rumble rolled his optics and turned to the Captain.

"I know the boss ain't exactly supposed to be doin' this kind of stuff, but I can vouch for us; we ain't been doin' nothin' to undermine this ship… In fact Ratbat's been pretty useful; if it weren't for him a couple of Borg cubes would have gotten a little too close for comfort." He stated defending my actions; the Captain was obviously upset with me, but she decided to forego punishment and focus on the matter at hand.

"Ensign; I will allow you to activate your Decepticons, on the understanding that they are only to be active for eight hours at a time, and then only to run simulations for dealing with Borg threats." She stated; I nodded smiling gratefully at her.

"Rumble; I have a feeling that includes your team, let them know they should meet me back at our quarters, and notify Laserbeak that I want a complete schematic from Ratbat concerning that ship he's on." I ordered; Rumble nodded and climbed to his feet swiftly taking his leave.

"Have those things been peeping around this ship?" B'Elanna demanded; I turned to her and shook my head.

"Hardly; besides Rumble and Frenzy are the only ones who even come close to humanoid, the rest of them have robotic animal forms." I returned; B'Elanna shuddered and I chuckled. "Relax Lieutenant; they're Decepticons, not peeping toms." I stated.

"It still gives me the creeps." She shot back; I sighed and seriously re-evaluated my earlier strategy.

"I should have just kept Rumble, Ratbat, Laserbeak and Ravage active until I was sure they'd be accepted." I sighed; Serena didn't know what to say to that, so she merely smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"I knew you could do it." She whispered into my ear; I smiled at that and suddenly realized just how hungry I was.

"Come on let's get something to eat before Amy wakes up; I want her to have a proper meal today." I stated; Serena nodded and together we left the senior staff to fetch our meals.

"I hope you made the right decision Captain." The Doctor muttered aside to her; Janeway nodded.

"So do I." She agreed with a shake of her head.

* * *

Deathsaurus of Borg was afraid; though he should not be, his vessel was perfectly capable of dealing with Voyager and fulfilling its' mission, but the tiny voice that would not go away kept remembering something from his past life. A life he should not even recall, with a deep growl he spun to face his lessers; the drones which served under him. 

"Continue to hold this pace; something is not right." He stated covering up his fears; the Queen would know, but he did not care. Besides she was still pre-occupied with other developments; if he took a little extra time who was she to care? Unseen the spy watched; unseen the spy smiled, his fear inducing tactics on the mind of this one were working quite well, this should give his master enough time to prepare the others for dealing with this threat, or so he hoped.

* * *

"It's about time." Starscream stated snidely crossing his arms over his chest manifold as he, Megatron and Soundwave entered the conference room; Captain Janeway did not like his attitude, she shot him a pointed glare. Best to try and keep these creatures in line as best as she was able; Tuvok remained stoic as always and Seven kept her opinions to herself in the mixed company. Ensign Desrochers turned to Megatron; if there was one character that could keep the beloved Air Commander in check it was the true leader of the Decepticon Empire. 

"Sit down Starscream." Megatron commanded taking his own seat next to Soundwave, ever on his right and Serenity to his left; Starscream sneered, but did as he was instructed claiming a seat next to the Goddess in disguise. To the crew of the Starship Voyager it was quite strange seeing characters they had once encountered on the Holodeck now sitting in human scaled chairs, it was doubly odd for Ensign Desrochers because he was seeing Rumble next to his large scale counterparts for the first time and it just didn't look right.

"Since we are all present to discuss battle strategies; might I suggest reviewing the capabilities of this new Borg vessel." Tuvok spoke up in typical Vulcan fashion; Ensign Desrochers nodded taking the ball and rolling with it, shifting in his seat so he could see Rumble clearly he smiled.

"Soundwave, Rumble play back Ratbat's findings." He ordered; Megatron bristled at the audacity the human showed for commanding his subordinates, but he had created them and thus leadership was deferred to the mortal, for the time being.

"As you command." The yellow-uni-optic-visored Decepticon returned in his monotonous drawl, his chest flew open and Rumble transformed for the first time in front of the crew assuming a tiny rectangular audio cassette form. The sight was all the more impressive as Soundwave himself leapt into the air and transformed as well into his audio cassette player form. A strange adapter emerged from the left hand side of the tape deck and plugged into the main computers in such a fashion that B'Elanna cringed; a three dimensional image of the Borg vessel appeared above the center of the table and began to rotate.

"Ratbat has reported that this is the only vessel of its size class and configuration." Rumble's voice emerged from the tiny spinning cassette; Seven nodded concurrently.

"That makes sense, the Borg have a penchant for Cubes and Spheres, Pyramids are… Much too unstable when expanded to such scale." She remarked.

"This one works." Rumble spoke up. "It was built to cater to the exclusive mission of trackin' you down boss; it is equipped with quadraphonic shields." He added as the display lit up to reveal the shield generator locations. "Veristeon phasers." He continued as once again the display lit up. "And Chartenium torpedoes." He concluded.

"What the slag does all that mean?" Starscream demanded before any of the humans had a chance to voice their own confusions.

"It means she's been recruiting from outside this universe." Al replied with a notable grimace. "These weapons systems belong to alien species not known to this reality; she has expanded since the failure to assimilate species eight four seven two." He noted with a practical eye.

"These technologies match nothing in Federation records." Tuvok concurred with a tilt of his head.

"Maybe not, but Ratbat got in the clever little creep." Rumble remarked with an obvious tone of disdain. "The shields are multispacial; they fluctuate within our three dimensions and a fourth unknown dimension, the Borg are still attempting to study this phenomena. Whoever they assimilated to acquire the tech didn't understand it either; the shields also run independent of primary ships systems; each of the five central generators acts to establish a grid like holding pattern." He elaborated as technical specifications scrawled across the three dimensional image faster then anyone aside from Ensign Desrochers, Seven of Nine and the Decepticons might be able to read.  
"There is however a weakness, which can be exploited; in order for these systems to run independently there must exist a central polar node." Rumble added sounding bemused. "It is located here; beneath the vessel." He revealed as the image rotated to reveal a small fin like protrusion on the underbelly of the monstrous vessel.

"External power source; that obviously must have come from a weak species, apparently your intended mate hasn't been too picky on who she assimilates." Megatron observed with a chuckle; Ensign Desrochers growled.

"Call her that again and I'll ensure you remain nothing more then a harmless pistol." He snapped.

"That is hardly indicative of weakness." Tuvok spoke up. "It is possible that this is a mere ploy to make us believe that the species is weak." He remarked.

"What about the armaments?" The Captain wondered before her chief of security got into a heated debate on alien species and their mentalities with a holographic entity.

"As near as Ratbat can tell the phasers just have a fancy new name; their energy levels match previous Borg vessel armaments." Rumble began foregoing the accompanying light show with the displayed image. "The torpedoes on the other hand appear to be five times more effective then photon torpedoes or quantum torpedoes, with three times less the payload." He added; Megatron smirked as he rose from his seat to eye the display up close.

"Another weakness; a concentrated barrage precisely targeted could cause a chain reaction and wipe out the entire ship with its own offenses." He stated sneering.

"Oh yes, we learned that the hard way during our war with the Autobots." Starscream agreed surprising the Voyager crew with the display of exposition; Ensign Desrochers had apparently gone all out when creating their personalities, even going so far as to include a history for each character. "No thanks to Megatron." He added conspiratorially.

"Perhaps your earlier assessment was correct, ah, Megatron." Captain Janeway observed. "The Borg Queen does appear to be assimilating species from outside this universe merely to bolster her ranks; otherwise they never would have incorporated such ineffective technologies." She added.

"Just be thankful she's not incorporating this stuff into the main fleet; those torpedoes alone could wipe out a Starfleet Armada in seconds." Ensign Desrochers pointed out.

"You mean the Queen is not modifying her vessels to include these new armaments?" Seven asked; Al nodded.

"Ratbat doesn't lie; unlike certain other individuals I could name." He returned pointedly glancing in Starscream's direction.

"Does this ship have any other noticeable traits?" Tuvok wondered turning back to the Decepticon in the center of the table.

"One." Rumble informed. "The vessel is capable of separating much like your Enterprise; it however separates from the central hub becoming one large scale offensive vehicle and a smaller defensive command center." He added.

"You know; I'm getting shades of Goa'uld in this." Al remarked with a slight smirk.

"I beg your pardon?" The Doctor asked finally speaking up.

"Oh it's noting, just something from a different franchise." Al returned chuckling softly.

"This ability is not good for us; the Borg pyramid could attack us from both sides and we'd be caught in the middle." Janeway remarked.

"Perhaps not." Megatron countered. "If we were to concentrate all firepower at the point of separation we might cripple the vessels twin halves, rendering them incapable of enacting such an assault." He remarked thoughtfully.

"You think we'd even have a chance at it?" B'Elanna retorted. "I doubt our weapons could penetrate that deep into their systems." She added.

"If their shields were offline it could work." Starscream chimed in eyeing the three dimensional image with a hunger. "Our weapons systems are superior to Voyagers even if we are only photons and force fields." He added with a dark grin.

"I find that hard to believe." The Doc scoffed in a dismissive tone; Ensign Desrochers however carefully hid a smile, if the crew knew the extent of tweaking he'd put into these new holograms they might have a second opinion on their weapons systems.

"I want you to run scenarios; focusing on crippling the vessel should it attempt separation." Al spoke up eyeing Megatron directly. "The holodecks will be your only means to get it right; we can't risk failure, and you haven't exactly proven your mettle in combat to my way of thinking." He added insulting the Decepticon commander.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He demanded.

"Your antics in the series always left somewhat to be desired; and the Autobots did best you at every turn." Al pointed out; Megatron sneered.

"That was a child's entertainment media; the good guys were supposed to win." He reminded.

"Besides; this is real life, and for right now we are the good guys." Starscream added. "I say we're due for a win." He stated confidently.

"I will take no chances Air Commander." Ensign Desrochers countered. "You will be under the command of Cyclonus; at least he and Scourge were competent enough to achieve some level of success, Galvatron's insanity aside." He added; the Voyager crew were following this dialogue with slight fascination, it was interesting to witness the young capable crewman assuming the tone and quality of a leader, it gave Janeway and B'Elanna a sense of comfort knowing that he was handling this end of things.

"You dare strip me of my rank!" Starscream exclaimed climbing to his feet with his rage.

"Negative." Al returned. "I said you will be under the command of Cyclonus; he was not Air Commander, but a General and right now we can't afford any ill-conceived power plays." He stated in a logical tone of voice. "However if you're questioning my authority I could always have you replaced with Sunstorm." He added smiling slightly; Starscream growled something under his breath that even the technorganic Borg failed to catch, but lowered his head in subservience.

"As you wish." He stated before resuming his seat; Megatron was quiet, but the expression on his face spoke worlds, he was enjoying seeing his 'loyal' Air Commander being taken down a peg by this mere human.

"I will give the Decepticons permission to use holodeck one for the express purpose of honing their skills and running attack simulations." Captain Janeway spoke up disrupting the charged energy that this confrontation seemed to have created amongst the holograms and dissipating it. "Remember though; they only have eight hours a day for these simulations, we must conserve power if we're to be facing a Borg vessel of such strengths." She added; Megatron nodded accepting the orders without question, though it was not in his character to do so he recognized the value of conserving energies for the more important goals.  
"I expect you to leave your cassettes offline unless absolutely necessary." She added; Al sighed at that, but also nodded.

"What about Ravage?" He wondered. "He's kind of been a personal bodyguard of sorts and I don't like leaving Amy unprotected." He added concern showing on his face.

"This Ravage would be in your company at all times?" She asked; Al nodded. "Then I see no harm in allowing him to remain active, but your other cassettes have been running around this ship long enough; I want them offline unless needed in the simulations." She ordered once again; Ensign Desrochers nodded a second time and climbed to his feet.

"I'd better get back to my quarters before she wakes up; Megatron." He called; the Decepticons left their seats Soundwave disconnecting from the computer and reverting to robot mode, Al proceeded to deactivate the three programs. "We'll start the training this evening, I want to run over a few things." He added.

"What happened to Rumble?" Seven wondered; Al chuckled and held up Soundwave's emitter.

"He's still inside Soundwave; and believe me it wasn't easy to figure out how one emitter could be stored inside another, the physical impossibility of it all just couldn't be ignored until I managed to figure out adapting the unique sub-space pockets most Cybertronians are gifted with." He explained as Serena quietly joined him; she hadn't said one word throughout this entire presentation, but she was clearly supportive of the young man.

"You figured out?" Janeway repeated with a slight smirk; Al sighed.

"All right fine; Q tinkered with the emitters for the cassettes so they could be stored inside one hologram when deactivated." He admitted reluctantly. "So I'm not that clever." He added with a slight shrug; the Captain dismissed him and he left his lover in tow, Tuvok turned to the Captain.

"Thoughts?" She asked.

"Most curious; I believe young Ensign Desrochers has been slightly obsessed with this for some time, but he seems to have been thinking of our best interests." He stated.

"I do not like these Decepticons." Seven stated openly. "They remind me far too much of the Collective." She added.

"How so?" Janeway wondered; Seven tilted her head, she could not express her feelings on the matter quite accurately.

"I'm uncertain." She admitted. "I believe the human term would be; they give me the creeps." She added; the Doctor smiled.

"Some things or people tend to evoke such reactions Seven." He noted before turning to the Captain. "Seven's feelings aside; I believe that they will not step out of line, Ensign Desrochers is a surprising person and his leadership skills seem to be equal to your own Captain." He complimented; Janeway nodded.

"I just want them to stop jacking into the ships' computers like that." B'Elanna spoke up. "It can't be good for ships' systems." She added; the Captain shook her head, something told her this was going to be a long and complicated collaboration.

* * *

Amy woke up with a start; something wasn't right though she didn't know what, then she saw her fathers' empty bed and she began to feel a great sense of loss, abandonment and fear all rolled into one. Seeking him with her telepathic bond she found him making his way back to their quarters with Serenity; she began to cry with relief even though she shouldn't really feel so bad, he would never leave the ship without her. 

"_Little one what's wrong?"_ He asked through their mental connection; she sucked in a huge bit of air trying to stop her tears, but it wouldn't work.

"_You left me all alone without a note to tell me where you were, you promised you'd never leave me."_ She stated fearful and angry all at the same time; her emotional response took her father by surprise, he sent her all of his love and support through their link and she began to feel a little better.

"_I'm sorry sweetie; please don't be sad, you know daddy has things he has to do and you were sleeping, I didn't want to wake you up." _He returned gently; Amy sighed softly as she finally stopped crying and curled up a little on her bed.

"_I know daddy, it's just…"_ She couldn't find the right words to say; so she touched his mind with her own in a most intimate way, showing her vulnerability with images of memories of her first assimilation. Her father couldn't find the words to express his sorrow, joy or wonder at this new experience; and so he sent her feelings of hope and love as if he were holding her in a tight embrace and she smiled. _"I understand daddy, thank you."_ She whispered mentally; Al smiled as he turned the corner leading to their room and nearly collided with Jenny and Megan Delaney, they looked particularly upset.

"Uh; is something wrong?" He wondered; Megan glared at him, Jenny did something he never would have thought and slapped him hard across the cheek. His hand rose involuntarily to touch said cheek as he eyed both women in confusion.

"That's for letting those creepy machines run around unsupervised." Megan stated offended. "Your little pal Frenzy was watching us while we got dressed." She added.

"I don't think we should see each other for a few weeks, old friend." Jenny added her cheeks slightly flushed in rage and a few tears trickling down her face. "How dare you breach someone's' privacy like that." She added before both women turned and stormed off; Al was fuming now, but not because of what happened.

"Frenzy." Was all he said before whirling away from Serena and marching straight back the way he'd come. _"Sorry Amy; I need to have a little chat with somebody"_ He sent; Amy understood, or at least pretended to for his sake, no sense in letting him know how hurt she was herself.

"I think I'd better have a word with the twins." Serena muttered to herself having been left all alone. "And Al too, something tells me this wasn't part of their programming." She added.

* * *

I found Frenzy in the cargo bay; he was with Beastbox, Squalktalk and Laserbeak waiting for me to retrieve them as I'd told Rumble to relay earlier during the morning meal, storming right up to the blue and purple cassette I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall with enough force to jar his logic circuits. 

"Whoa; hey boss what's wrong?" He asked; his tone coming off far too innocently.

"After I expressly told B'Elanna that you've been keeping to your missions, I find out you've been peeping in on my friends!" I snarled energy crackling between my fingertips at the intensity of my rage. "What is your major malfunction?"

"It's not like that; I was just tryin' to get out of the way of some crewmen and happened to slip into their quarters, but then Rumble gave us the deactivation signal and I couldn't stop myself from being seen." He desperately tried to explain; I could tell he was lying though, my internal circuits acted similar to a lie detector at times allowing me to determine when someone wasn't being completely honest with me.

"Laserbeak?" I prompted turning to eye the red and black condor; Laserbeak was obviously enjoying this, he squawked out a long series of explanations.

"That many times?" I inquired clearly upset; my steely gaze returned to the wayward Cassetticon. "And why exactly are you so interested in Human females?" I demanded slamming him into the wall again in a show of force; Frenzy cowered slightly in my grip.

"I don't know, I couldn't help myself… The curves, the fluidity, the natural beauty… I just…" He trailed off from his babbling and looked to the others for help, Beastbox and Squalktalk were snickering now and Laserbeak averted his gaze.

"You are going to regret looking in on them; of that I can assure you." I informed in a dark toned voice. "When I get finished with you in the battle simulations you're going to wish you'd never been programmed." I added my voice rising with my rage; I slammed him into the wall a third time and then tossed him across the length of the cargo bay for good measure. Frenzy was an extension of me in certain respects; he represented me and my beliefs, and when he started doing something I would never have approved of the others should have let me know immediately.  
"As for you Laserbeak; you disappoint me, you should have informed me as to his transgressions." I added eyeing the condor with narrowed eyes; Laserbeak knew better then to seek forgiveness, he could tell just how upset I really was. "All of you transform right now and prepare for deactivation." I commanded; the three beasts shifted into cassette form immediately, Frenzy however was still a little dizzy from the trip through the air and it took him slightly longer. Summoning all four to my hand I deftly deactivated them causing their programs to vanish and four emitters to appear in my hand, I sighed the roiling emotions of anger, rage and shame slowly dissipating.

"_It's not your fault Daddy; they are independent."_ Amy tried to console; I smiled slightly at her innocent attempt and shook my head.

"Maybe not little one, but it still reflects badly on me as a person; I just hope the Delaneys' can forgive me." I spoke aloud before turning and leaving the cargo bay. "I have a feeling part of this is Q's fault." I added with a slight frown.

* * *

Q after hearing that accusation burst out laughing; Q eyed him uncertainly, but he couldn't say anything just yet because he was enjoying himself far too much. After the laughter subsided he shook his head before she could even voice the question. 

"He's wrong; that particular problem was all his doing, though he doesn't know it." Q explained. "It's mostly the fault of the program; Frenzy as a character didn't get much personality, our young Padawan had to fabricate most of it. He just wasn't too careful on what he was putting in there." He elaborated still smirking.

"I see it still amuses you though." Q returned; he shrugged.

"What can I say my dear; I'm quite fascinated by elaborate fiascoes, especially concerning such things relating to human physical attraction." He admitted with a slight tilt of his head. "Although I never could get Jean-Luc to open up." He added with a wide grin.

"Well if you're not to busy enjoying yourself perhaps you could help deal with our son, he's becoming problematic." She reminded; Q sighed, but for the sake of the continuum he did try his best to locate his son so that he could have a word with him about his current shenanigans.

To Be Continued; **The fur seems to have flown; so to speak, well so much for this chapter, be here next time for the next exciting installment, which will hopefully have more Federation/Decepticon interactive goodness.**


	5. Chapter 5 Lessons in Parenthood

**Author's Notes:** Nothing really to say here except; the story continues...

* * *

Amy and I were enjoying lunch a few weeks later in the mess hall when Seven and the other four children arrived; I shook my head slightly, Seven unfortunately was not adapting to motherhood as quickly as I was to fatherhood.

"They're here." Naomi told Neelix who was helping to set up a game of kadis-kot; a game I was extremely unfamiliar with.

"Ah." Neelix exclaimed as the children sat down; he moved closer to Seven. "Why don't you and I have a cup of tea while the children play?" He suggested ever smiling.

"Thank you, but they require my supervision." She returned maintaining her straight pose and watching over her charges.

"Daddy can I play too?" Amy wondered thoughtfully.

"Uh; maybe later, I'm afraid I don't exactly know this game." I returned apologetically; Amy smiled a little and patted my arm with her tail.

"Thank you Daddy." She returned before resuming her meal; I smiled at that and resumed eating myself, though I kept an eye on the others. Still my mind wandered; Serena hadn't spoken with the Delaney's yet though she'd promised me as much, and they were avoiding me like the plague. Our simulations in the Holodeck weren't going so well either and I hadn't reactivated Frenzy yet because I'd been trying to find just the right punishment, I could just reprogram him, but this was more satisfying.

"I like your braid." Naomi complimented distracting me from my inner demons.

"I could show you how to do it." Mezoti returned.

"Mezoti." Seven spoke up warningly; I sighed inwardly at what was to come next and chose to tune them out. Which proved difficult once Icheb began to question Seven's authority, but I still managed; Amy was a little frightened by the display and shied away slightly almost cuddling up next to me.

"It's ok little one." I spoke in a soothing voice. "Icheb isn't as lucky as you; I'm afraid Seven doesn't have much experience with child raising." I whispered to avoid being heard; the advantages to being a technorganic Borg was total mastery of my vocal circuits, which could be a blessing or a curse depending on how you used the power.

"He's still scary." She pointed out causing me to smile infectiously.

"Well he is older and very much taller then you." I pointed out my smile becoming a tiny smirk; Amy shot me a tiny pout and settled back to finish her meal, she didn't like it when I teased her about her height. Naomi was looking at me now that Icheb had left with a silent plea for help. "Sorry." I mouthed; she smiled weakly at me and tried to have some fun with Mezoti, I returned to plots of punishment for Frenzy, whatever it was it had to be extremely excruciating.

* * *

Jenny looked up as Megan returned from her duty shift; Serena in tow, the two women had been avoiding Al for some time. It hurt to think he would do something like that; create some strange programs with duplicate mobile emitters and ask them to run around the ship, she really didn't want to believe anything bad of her friend, but the proof was right before her.

"Our resident counselor wants to have words with us." Megan stated clearly upset; unlike Jenny she was really clear on what she wanted to do with Al, but that was just her nature, the last time she found out a guy had been stalking and peeping on her she'd told a couple of Klingons. The end result wasn't very pretty for the ex-boyfriend; Jenny smiled slightly at Serena, the two were fast friends after all.

"If this is about Al; I don't think we're ready for that." She returned as polite as she could.

"I know you're hurt by the actions of Frenzy, but you must know that Al had nothing to do with it; these programs of his are independent sentient creatures." Serena spoke up; Megan shook her head.

"Al programmed them; he gave them their personalities, of course he had something to do with it." She stated rather brusquely. "And just because he didn't know what that creep was up to; it's no excuse." She added moving into the refresher to strip out of her uniform and have a sonic shower.

"Megan has a point Serena." Jenny agreed softly. "Al hurt us; he wasn't directly responsible, but he still hurt us." She added; Serena sighed uncertain of what to do or say to help her lover out any further with his friends, he was still berating himself for not realizing what Frenzy was up to sooner and with his big heart… Well he tended to take things a little too seriously sometimes; suddenly an idea struck her and a twinkle flashed in her eye.

"How would you two like to pay the creep back?" She wondered; Jenny glanced up at her friend confusedly while Megan ducked her head back into the room with a very dark gleam in her eyes.

"Oh hell yeah." She stated adopting a more informal means of speech; Serena nodded a mischievous gleam entering her eyes as the idea formulated into a plan.

"Then why not help Al in deciding on how to punish his wayward pet?" Serena asked. "He's been trying to find some way to truly let Frenzy have it; the simulation runs on the Borg assault vessel haven't been nearly enough, he wants Frenzy to suffer for what he's done… You see it put Al in a negative light with you two and he doesn't like being made to be the bad guy or some kind of pervert; I think it has to do with the strong sense of nobility and honor he picked up in Xena's world." She added taking a seat as she mulled over the plan; Megan re-entered the room wearing nothing, but a towel a dark grin spreading across her features.

"That sounds like a plan." She agreed; Jenny eyed her sister worriedly the thought of revenge left a sour taste in her stomach, but she did want to see Amy again and she didn't like hurting Al like this. His charisma and gentle nature at least in the privacy of their special holodeck programs really made her like him as a friend all the more.

"What exactly would we do though?" She wondered; Serena smiled with a sudden thought.

"This Decepticon has a problem; he seems to be attracted to human females because of some glitch in his programming, or maybe it's just a side effect of Al's tinkering, who can say?" She began leaning closer to Jenny as she spoke. "The thing of it is all Al would do is throw him against something; maybe just have him run the simulation alone until Frenzy gets' really hurt or something… But the little pervert wouldn't learn anything from it; so I say we give him what he wants." She stated smiling like a crocodile; Jenny and Megan shared a brief look both of them thinking pretty much the same thing.

"I'm in." They said in unison; Serena smiled, she'd gotten them to look past their disgust and anger with Al and now they were ready to approach him again; sure it was because of revenge, but it was a start.

* * *

"Any sign of the Kobali?" Chakotay asked as he joined Seven of Nine later in astrometrics; she punched in a few commands briefly.

"None." She replied in typical efficient fashion.

"The latest tactical reports from Tuvok." He stated passing her a data pad and turning to leave.

"Commander." Seven called causing him to pause. "I no longer wish to serve as guardian to the Borg children." She informed continuing her duty even as she spoke.

"What's the problem?" Chakotay inquired moving back to hear her out.

"Their behavior is chaotic." She began. "My attempts to apply discipline only result in further disorder." She clarified.

"Well; kids and disorder usually go hand in hand." He pointed out with a small smile.

"Neelix issued a similar warning prior to my taking this assignment." She concurred. "Which is why I devised an activity schedule to promote focus and unity." She added pulling said schedule onto the screen to demonstrate.

"Oh seven hundred hours; the children emerge from their alcoves; nutrients are ingested in the mess hall prior to proceeding to the science lab to begin classes. At thirteen hundred hours; nutrients are consumed a second time, before reporting to the holodeck where they're studying comparative alien physiology." She revealed unaware of the commanders' physical reactions to her long monologue.

"Doesn't sound like there's much time for fun." He pointed out.

"On the contrary." She countered pulling up a specific section. "I've scheduled recreational activities."

"You can't always schedule fun Seven." Chakotay countered. "Sometimes it needs to be; spontaneous." He pointed out.

"According to my research Children require structure." Seven defended.

"I agree." Chakotay stated. "But not to this extreme; you're treating them like they're still on the Borg cube." He pointed out.

"You're comparing me to the Collective." Seven noted in a tone of voice that was unrecognizable.

"You have all four children functioning as one; they do the same things together at the same time." He returned.

"So that each child has the same opportunities to learn." She defended her voice rising slightly in volume.

"They're individuals." Chakotay countered after sighing. "Maybe they're rebelling because you don't let them express themselves." He hypothesized.

"Then grant my request; choose a more suitable crew member to instruct them." She urged. "Ensign Desrochers perhaps." She added thoughtfully.

"Sorry Seven; permission denied." Chakotay stated turning to leave; he paused and glanced back at her. "Perhaps you should consult with him; he seems to be getting along with Amy quite well." He added before taking his leave of the young woman; she considered his words seriously, he had a valid point.

* * *

"Those Insecticons have betrayed us for the last time; after them!" Amy cried; she was happily playing with my replicated Transformer toys enjoying herself immensely judging by the feelings of joy I was experiencing. Meanwhile I was examining the reply from Quark, it was quite promising actually; I had to trick him into believing I was stationed on Earth. However Mister Barclay was more then willing to accommodate me, which was most fortuitous; suddenly the door chime rang out and I glanced up in confusion.

"Enter." I called; much to my surprise Seven strode through the doors, she paused observing Amy's antics with raised brow before turning to me.

"Ensign; I require your assistance in perfecting my parenting techniques." She admitted taking me by surprise.

"I see." I remarked lowering my pad onto my desk and doing my best to keep the surprise from my tone; I steepled my fingers and sat back. "How exactly can I be of assistance?" I asked.

"Commander Chakotay has suggested I attempt spontaneity rather then adhering to my scheduling techniques; unfortunately I have little experience in this matter, what are children of the twenty-first century like?" She wondered tilting her head to one side; I chuckled at that and relaxed my position.

"Most children of my time attended schools until the age of adulthood; generally considered to be eighteen." I stated. "This provided a structured sense of order; however having fun and playing with others in groups generally assisted in acquiring social skills. Thus at younger ages children often received a set time during the school day for recess; a time to forget about learning and create new friendships." I elaborated.

"It sounds inefficient." Seven admitted.

"Perhaps, but it is how humans prepare their young for adulthood." I returned. "In your case however it hardly seems appropriate; instead I would suggest attempting to… Contain your Borg-like tendencies." I suggested with a slight smile.

"Clarify." Seven requested sounding most eager to learn; my smile broadened as I considered a means of proper response.

"Allow freedom of expression; do not be so quick to enforce punishment protocols." I elaborated making the universal sign for quotation marks when I used her term for disciplinary action. "Analyze the situation first; if the child has truly done something… Undesirable; such as cheating, then it is acceptable. However; if the child is merely expressing his or her dissatisfaction, make it clear that you understand how they are feeling before enforcing suitable punishment." I stated now with a small smirk. "Rebelling against authority is how teenagers discover the proper ways to behave; and how they mature, however if you lose their respect… They tend to become like my brother; arrogant, obnoxious and full of themselves." I added with a slight sigh; Seven seemed most impressed with my words judging by the expression of contentment on her features.

"Interesting; I will implement your suggestions." She returned; I smiled yet again.

"Feel free to seek me out for any further inquiries." I stated; Seven nodded and took her leave, I sighed. "That went better then I thought." I admitted softly; I was new at the whole parenting thing myself after all, but I did have some idea how the game was played.

* * *

Icheb was leaving the ship now; and I felt Amy might wish to say goodbye, so that was why I led her to the transporter room today after coming off my duty shift. It would help prepare me for the time when I might be faced with this self-same development concerning Amy, perhaps; then again I had a feeling Amy and I would not be separating anytime soon.

"Thank you Captain; I hope you find a way home." Icheb was saying upon our arrival; Amy looked uncertain, but smiled nevertheless.

"You neglected to say goodbye to Amy." I spoke up before Icheb could be transported down.

"I was; uncertain about approaching her." Icheb admitted; Amy slipped up onto the transporter pad and offered the older boy a quick hug.

"We all were part of the same Collective once." She pointed out with a smile; Icheb looked uncertain at the girl, but offered a smile in return.

"I shall… Miss you too." He returned; Amy giggled slightly and hopped back down off the transporter pad.

"You hardly knew me." She returned in kind a sly smirk playing across her features. "But thank you." She added; Icheb grinned slightly as the Captain silently ordered the transport, he looked to Seven as he began to dematerialize. It was a touching if painful moment for her; she and Icheb were becoming quite close the past few weeks. I stayed silent until he was gone; her pain was obvious as she left the room and yet I knew not what to say to offer any comfort.  
I took Amy by the hand; holding her tightly as though she might slip away at any given moment, and began to lead her back to our quarters… Wondering as I did the reaction I could expect upon arriving on Eternia and finding her people one day far from here; my heart grew heavy with that thought and she easily picked up on it, she squeezed my hand in return tightly.

"_I'll never leave you Daddy."_ She whispered inside my head; I smiled gratefully at her fighting back the sudden urge to cry and picked her up so I could hug her.

"_Thank you little one."_ I returned softly; this telepathic link still took some getting used to. "Why don't we play together with the others; help them to deal with the loss of Icheb as well." I suggested aloud; she laughed happily at that and raced ahead of me.

"I'm the Autobots this time." She called over her shoulder; I chuckled at that and raced to catch up, she was one of the things I always felt lacking in my life and now that I'd found her… Well despite how often I'd thought similar thoughts before; I'd be damned if I didn't get to bring her home with me.

* * *

Jenny's Personal Log; We spoke with Al today Mom, and he seemed to be pleasantly surprised that we were talking again; when Megan almost slugged him one for his little faux pas I nearly died laughing. Once we explained what we wanted to do Al seemed to get this feral look in his eyes and a smile blossomed; he apologized to Amy who looked a little upset about it, but he promised they'd play in the morning.  
Then we went to Holodeck one with Frenzy; the Decepticon pervert really got his good mom, with Serena, Megan and me programming the environment and all that, oh Al wanted to help, but I told him he'd done his part. Though we'd still let him watch; to which that twisted smile returned and he mentioned something about enjoying this, anyway we managed to pay back that hologram for his taking liberties.

You see mom; Serena suggested we give him what he wanted, by programming a certain scenario on the holodeck he could enjoy his ogling to his hearts content. He was obviously skeptical about our generous nature; and I think he suspected something from the get go, but he didn't exactly have a choice once Al made playing out this scenario to the end mandatory if he even wanted to survive. Now here's where the fun stuff comes in; what could be a pervert's worst nightmare? Well in this day and age it could only be one thing; getting found out by the woman he was spying on and then having to suffer even greater indignity when she actually liked the attention. Of course no human woman ever appreciates being spied on by a peeping tom, Klingon women on the other hand… Well let's just say this program involved a family of seventeen Klingon sisters who were all close to the same age and extremely interested in receiving attention because they'd been stranded alone for eighteen years on a deserted planet.  
I never would have believed that little guy could scream so loudly when they tried to get him to perform as a human would… I think they broke him, Megan certainly enjoyed herself and Al was quite satisfied with the level of depravity we sunk to; although I think he was a little disappointed that he didn't think of it himself.  
Anyway mom just thought you'd like to know how we resolved that issue; I think Frenzy even demanded that Al reprogram his personality sub-routines so he would never feel that way about a woman again, but I also think Al denied the request and suggested he come back to this program whenever he felt sudden urges. As always I love you and can't wait to be home again; I know I'll see you again, I just know that we'll find a way back to Earth… I think Al's optimistic nature is rubbing off on me…

* * *

Seven looked up suddenly as Amy and Al ventured into Cargo Bay two carrying a strange plastic bin of some kind; she'd been trying her best to forget the pain of losing Icheb, part of her researching something because of a nagging feeling that she just couldn't ignore. Brought on by a conversation she'd had last night with Mezoti when the young girl couldn't sleep; Ensign Desrochers had intended to come here yesterday after Icheb left, but something unexpected had come up and so he'd had to postpone it much to Amy's disappointment. Mezoti, Azan and Rebi were quietly studying; Naomi Wildman was tagging along carrying a second smaller bin, Seven grew curious and began to approach Ensign Desrochers.

"The fun has come to you for a change boys and girls." He exclaimed placing the bin next to him; the three remaining Borg children were clearly confused.

"Is this what is referred to as spontaneity?" Mezoti wondered; for some reason the boys rarely spoke.

"Of course silly." Amy replied beginning to rummage around in the bin. "Daddy suggested we play a game to help us forget the pain and be happy for Icheb." She added tossing Naomi something the others couldn't quite see; Al shot her a pointed stare.

"What have I told you about throwing those around; they're made of metal." He scolded; Amy squirmed slightly.

"Sorry Daddy." She returned shamefacedly.

"You don't mind do you Seven?" He asked turning to the only other adult; at first the children feared Seven might say yes and then they'd be forced to resume studying, they didn't have their hearts set on it right this moment.

"It is an acceptable distraction." She returned in typical Seven fashion; Mezoti smiled as she rushed over curious to see what they had brought, Azan and Rebi approached more slowly.

"Seven why don't we let the children have their fun without us hovering over them?" Al suggested; Seven grew uncertain while Al simply eyed the data pad in her hand. "I could help you with your research." He pointed out; Seven reluctantly accepted, knowing that he was only trying to help. Together the two of them left the children to their fun; Naomi and Amy began to explain what the toys were to the others, but Seven soon tuned them out becoming engrossed in her work.

"So… What are we looking for exactly?" He asked looking over her shoulder, which made her a tad uncomfortable.

"I am uncertain; there is something Mezoti said last night that… I am uncertain." She replied handing over a second data pad; Al nodded and eyed the scrolling text with rapid movements, if Seven knew that Al already knew what she hoped to find and indeed what was bothering her so she might prove very upset.

"Perhaps we should begin at the beginning; when the Borg attacked Icheb's home world and he was assimilated by the Collective." He suggested a sly smile crossing over his face; Seven nodded and rapidly sought out the information in question… Her eyes grew alarmed as she read the text in front of her; the mask was quickly snapped back into place however, although it had only been a day Voyager had already traversed quite some distance from the planet.

"I must speak with Captain Janeway about this at once." She stated turning to leave; Al eyed her curiously.

"Something wrong?" He asked innocently; Seven shot him a tiny glare because she now suspected he knew what she'd discovered, but now was not the time to confront him on the issue.

"Please remain here to watch over the children while I see to this new development." She requested curtly; Al nodded and hopped up onto a cargo container dangling his feet over the edge and watching the children play. Seven quickly left the cargo bay; she had to speak with Captain Janeway immediately lest Icheb be lost to them forever, though she did not understand how she knew it she feared that Icheb's parents had deceived the crew for a reason that was greatly significant.

* * *

Naomi sighed as she sat listening to Seven droning on and on about some guy she could care less about; she knew he was important for some reason, but the way Seven was going about explaining his exploits as both a Starfleet Captain and later Admiral was just far too monotonous. Almost like Soundwave in a way; Icheb, Mezoti, Azan and Rebi seemed to be absorbing the information quite easily, but Mezoti seemed a little restless and Icheb was starting to look for all the world like he was sleeping with his eyes open. That's when a knock came at the door startling Naomi from her almost comatose state; Al stood halfway through the door with Amy at his side; he seemed a little confused by the state of the children, or dronelings as he'd called them once in secret.

"Sev, you're boring these kids to death." He exclaimed crossing the rest of the way through the doorway and eyeing Seven with a slightly raised brow.

"I do not believe so Ensign Desrochers; we are covering the history of the Federation and its more prominent members, certainly you should be able to appreciate that." She returned in a clipped tone; Al shook his head and flopped down in one of the empty seats.

"Sev, I could hear you halfway down the hall; you weren't covering history, you were butchering it." He returned with a small smirk. "Amy wanted to see what you do most of the day since she doesn't exactly want to be in school right this minute; and I don't intend to pressure her, but what you're showing her is that school is a place to learn without having any damn fun in the process." He stated.

"Is that not the purpose of school?" She asked; Al sighed and shook his head.

"The best teachers I recall from my own school years are the ones who managed to liven up the lesson plan; show that learning could be fun." He returned. "And trying to teach these kids about the human condition the way you're going about it I hardly think you're offering them a fair representation of the spirit we humans are known for." He added pointedly.

"But you are Borg." Mezoti spoke up all innocently; Al chuckled and shook his head.

"Human-Borg Hybrid Mezoti." He corrected. "I may no longer be an ordinary human, but I'm still human." He reminded; the young girl nodded and accepted his words at face value, Seven eyed her fellow parent disdainfully briefly.

"What would you suggest?" She asked; Al tilted his head to one side in thought as he contemplated the situation.

"Who were you talking about anyway?" He asked. "I only heard the last bit concerning the fact that he followed the logical course of action for once and allowed someone to die in order to correct history." He added.

"Captain Kirk." Seven replied; Al's eyes widened in shock, Amy had remained silent the entire time of the conversation, now she burst into a fit of giggles.

"Oh daddy is going to enjoy this." She said aloud in between giggles.

"City on the Edge of Forever." Al exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Edith Keeler." He added knowingly; with a nod he climbed back to his feet and headed for the exit. "If you'll follow me I'll show you how to teach a class about such a key moment in a person's life." He stated; Seven inclined her head briefly and the children quickly got up to follow Al.

To Be Continued; **There's no real reason I cut it off here, just felt like preserving the story so to speak... Be here next time for hopefully more Decepticon shenanigans...**


	6. Chapter 6 Decepticon Simulations

**Author's Notes:** As promised this chapter will bring the Decepticons back to the forefront; oh and lest I forget we shall directly continue from where I left off last time, I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter... And so; on with the show.

* * *

The children watched enthralled as the Doctor was found; and then in horror as Captain Kirk kept him from helping the poor woman known as Edith Keeler, she screamed, the car hit her and she fell to the ground dead upon impact. History had been preserved; Kirk, McCoy and Spock seemingly vanished and the program froze; I smiled as I strode purposefully out into the middle of the street, confident that there would be no problems. It was nice seeing this particular episode; at least from what my memories had managed to conjure, but without it looking dated and from the sixties. The ships database had information on a great many things; including the true image of the Guardian of Forever, it or he or whatever was a lot less plain looking in reality. I'd been pleasantly surprised to discover there were at least several discrepancies between what the period of the episodes inception would allow in creating him, it was more then simple rock; there were barely perceptible circuits and pathways visible, but I digress.

"So now you know children; Kirk didn't only do it because of Logic, he did it out of love in a certain respect… At least that's my belief." I stated. "Interpret it anyway you wish." I added with a soft smile; Seven eyed me curiously.

"I fail to see where you glean that information from Ensign." She stated rather bluntly. "Captain Kirk loved Edith Keeler, why would he allow her to die out of that love?" She asked.

"Not love for her; that was the reason it was so painful for him, no he did it I would suppose out of love for his friends, for his ship, for the entire Federation." I explained. "Of course that's just my interpretation of events; and it's rather blasé in certain respects, I really haven't seen this episode in years and my memories could be playing tricks on me." I elaborated with a slight sigh.

"I believe I understand what you're trying to say." Icheb spoke up a fascinated gleam in his eye. "I would like to study Captain Kirk further using this method, could you prepare other holodeck programs?" He asked; I turned to Seven, who simply nodded in acceptance.

"Sure thing Icheb, how about next time we go for something really heart wrenching, I seem to recall an episode dealing with the first Romulan skirmish in over a century… Or something like that; in which Captain Kirk started out performing the sacred trust that is the bond of holy matrimony and ended up dealing with a very disturbing death." I remarked a faraway look in my eyes as memories resurfaced unbidden and a small smirk played across my lips as a different memory; this one of a campfire setting and an attempt to educate Spock in the nuances of Row, Row, Row Your Boat popped seemingly at random into my mind.

* * *

In a Quadrant currently not the focal point of life's little adventures an elderly man sat contemplating the information he'd been constantly receiving since contact was made with Voyager. His curiosity was piqued beyond measure; and in all honesty he just wanted to meet this man, of course had he known that the feelings were slightly shared by the individual in question he might have been a little disturbed. Amanda smiled; true she was Q, but she never really let go of her human name or ideals, part of her wished that her presence could have prevented the Q civil war, but she knew that she couldn't have done one damn thing. Especially when the Q who had found her conscripted her, so to speak; into a certain project of his that had required her presence outside this Universe.  
She'd been given a task in certain respects; a job perhaps, since there were so few Universes which existed containing true Super Heroes, it was up to her to make certain that those heroes would be around in case Roma needed them for Omniversal disasters. She was the reason why characters such as Spider-Man, Batman and the like never truly aged; it wasn't because Earth Prime kept writing stories where the characters could never age lest they be about Spider-Man the geriatric, it was because Roma made a deal with the Q and the only one Q trusted in performing that deal was someone who had a bit more humanity in her then most. Turning from these strange thoughts she regarded the elderly man once more; she really wanted to help him out by snapping him to the Delta quadrant, but she'd mastered control of her powers and more importantly when to use them, unlike her mentor who was atypical of a Q. She would have kept watching over this elderly man until Voyager's return except suddenly she found herself back within the Continuum.

"What's going on?" She demanded glancing around in confusion.

"Amanda Rogers; you are privy to Q's doings, just what has he been up to all this time in the Delta Quadrant?" A booming voice demanded from the darkness; Q couldn't see a thing, she didn't plan on revealing anything though, she knew the elder Q were simply concerned and she knew she could put their fears to rest easily, but the danger outweighed the price.

"I may be privy, but I do not betray my friends." She stated matter of factly; a very loud sigh reverberated through the colorless void.

"Only humans and lesser species have friends; I do wish you'd stop falling into such habits." Another Q said; this one female.

"You should know better by now; what with your poster boy q, who is the son of Q having prevented the demise of the Continuum." Q pointed out; not the least bit confused, she'd long ago grown accustomed to the fact that everyone in the Continuum was called Q. It might surprise a lot of lesser species to know that the Continuum wasn't as vast as some would lead them to believe, long before the civil war even began a number of Q had been lost in the Omniverse fighting for the cause, the younger generations of Q, those who knew that without proper order and a maintaining of balance existence could be threatened.  
One Q in particular had, had the grave misfortune of running into a certain Mister Mxyzptlx and wound up falling for the diminutive little gnat; though most of the Q didn't exactly know how or why. She'd renounced her Q-self and became his girlfriend slash wife; of course he'd given her back some of her powers, but she was half the Q she used to be.

"Be that as it may; we are most concerned with what Q is doing, were you aware that he freed the demon overlord from captivity?" The first male voice inquired; Q shook her head, in truth she had not known.

"Is that a bad thing?" She wondered; another collective sigh shook the supposed room she was in.

"Demon Overlord; that should be a clue right there just how bad it is, he can kill us." Female Q stated; Amanda was beginning to wish she could see her damn inquisitors, if only so she could report them to Q.

"Look; I'd tell you if I knew, but I don't know… At least not all the details; and what I do know is enough to let me know that you don't need to know because you'd only get in the way, just so you know." She returned with a sigh and a slight smirk; part of Q's mischievous nature had rubbed off on her so to speak and she liked using word games to play around, the Q inquisitors seemed to be glaring at her now, but they couldn't force the issue and Amanda was one of the only Q who even had the potential of reproducing, considering she was of the younger generation; although for a race as eternal as the Q that meant relatively little.

"Very well Q." Inquisitor Q number three began in his nasally pinched voice. "We will not force you to reveal what you know, since we're not in the know; however we demand that you stop your observations of the man known as McCoy." He ordered; Amanda frowned slightly, when they said demand they really meant obey or else, and she knew better then to press the issue.

"Oh all right, but you'd better let Q know why I can't; unless of course you're too deluded by age to realize that if you simply asked him he might actually go out of his way to tell you something, at any rate." She returned before being sent back to Earth; she regarded McCoy thoughtfully, Q's instructions had been very clear. But then again so had been Q's; if she was going to keep looking in on the Admiral, yet not look in on him, she was going to have to be sneaky. "Who'd have thought all this over one little champion." She whispered to herself before flashing off to some other task that needed doing, or at least supposedly needed doing.

* * *

"Kes!" A voice cried out startling the older looking woman from her trek towards engineering; she glares angrily towards the sound of that voice and pauses startled that she had forgotten him, even more startled that he has changed physically. He stands taller then her eyeing her with a careful expression of sorrow; he too is conflicted in this matter, he does not know what to expect of his old friend.

"Hello Al; I see time has changed you as it has me." She returned in a bitter tone of voice; Al simply smiles slightly as though at some private joke. "Do not get in my way." She demands beginning to walk past him; Al grasps her by the shoulder and glares into her own anger filled eyes.

"I will not get in your way if you do not force me to." He returned. "You can't do this; you can't seriously hold such hatred towards this crew, your friends, that you would attempt to erase the past." He stated trying to break through her bitter shielding; at first she appears to crumble at the weight of his words and a stray tear trickles down her cheek, but then she tosses him aside with a mental shove and he slams into the bulkhead painfully.

"You will not stop me; I will do this, they corrupted me with their ideals of exploration and adventure and I will not go through this again… I must go home." She revealed in a softer tone; one filled with a darkness that not even her old friend could break through, and yet his nobility would not allow him to stand idly by while she did something like this, for once in his life aboard this ship he vowed to do something to stop certain events from playing out.

"There can be only one." He exclaimed rising back to his feet; in this dark time he was attempting once again to cover his misgivings through the use of humor, but Kes was not amused.

"You intend to cut off my head then?" She asked with a slight smirk. "And here I thought you cared for me." She added.

"You know me and humor Kes; I try my best." Al returned slowly preparing to blast his friend with an electrical charge that would render her comatose; unfortunately Kes was a lot more powerful then he even knew, when the electrical fingertips exploded out of his own she bashed them aside with some kind of barrier.

"Powers like these do not just come to be." She remarked. "I can see now that perhaps in a way we share a similar fate." She added; and then she used her natural mental abilities to snuff Al's soul out completely, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed a dead husk. A tiny voice cried out in pain far greater then even Kes' own and a little girl wept at the loss of her father. Elsewhere a Goddess fell to her knees and prayed hoping that this man could be saved; and still elsewhere the God who had sent her chosen on this path lowered her head prepared to believe the worse. Q however was not so defeatist in his attitude; for he could sense a strangeness about it all, yes there was a paradox a brewin'.

"Do not despair for your chosen just yet." He remarked glancing up to the unseen mourner. "There may yet be a chance of reversing these effects; for you see Kes is journeying through time, the past may hold the key to repairing the present and saving the future." He added speaking very strangely even for Q, but he knew the seriousness it would mean if Al remained dead; after all he had seen what waited to escape in the very bowels of Hell itself and he knew without the chosen Chaos would reign supreme over the entire Omniverse.

* * *

"Kes!" A voice cried out startling the older looking woman from her trek towards engineering; she glares angrily towards the sound of that voice and pauses startled that she had forgotten him, even more startled that he has changed physically. He stands taller then her eyeing her with a careful expression of sorrow; he too is conflicted in this matter, he does not know what to expect of his old friend.

"Hello Al; I see time has changed you as it has me." She returned in a bitter tone of voice; Al simply smiles slightly as though at some private joke. "Do not get in my way." She demands beginning to walk past him; Al grasps her by the shoulder and glares into her own anger filled eyes.

"I will not get in your way if you do not force me to." He returned. "You can't do this; you can't seriously hold such hatred towards this crew, your friends, that you would attempt to erase the past." He stated trying to break through her bitter shielding; at first she appears to crumble at the weight of his words and a stray tear trickles down her cheek, but then she tosses him aside with a mental shove and he slams into the bulkhead painfully.

"You will not stop me; I will do this, they corrupted me with their ideals of exploration and adventure and I will not go through this again… I must go home." She revealed in a softer tone; one filled with a darkness that not even her old friend could break through, and yet his nobility would not allow him to stand idly by while she did something like this, for once in his life aboard this ship he vowed to do something to stop certain events from playing out. And yet even as he thought to do something; fate took a new course heading and threw him upon it, one minute he was prepared to attack his friend in an attempt to prevent history from repeating as he knew it, the next… His body trembled; a light seemingly passed through his eyes and two sets of conflicting memories assailed him, instead of attacking he collapsed to the floor and tried his best to make sense of things. Kes eyed her friend with a brief hint of compassion at this moment; wondering what had happened to him, but instead of staying to help she quickly made her way to engineering where a new fate awaited her.

"That was a really dumb idea." Al's voice stated; Al glanced up to see himself, or at least his incorporeal self. "Sorry about getting in the way, but one death in my existence is good enough thank you very much." He added before completely fading away and all memory of the soul that had existed was erased from his counterparts mind, even erased from complete existence, instead of going on to heaven it was wiped out and became one with the void known collectively as Oblivion. For the death had not occurred; therefore the soul could not exist in the after life for it had never truly had a life or left a life to begin with, Al climbed shakily to his feet in utter confusion.

"Ok, what just happened here; and why do I get the feeling I somehow avoided a really big mistake?" He asked himself before remembering Kes and quickly rushing off to find her before she killed B'Elanna and went back in time again, _but she hasn't done it the first time yet so how could it be again?_

* * *

The Ocampa woman smiled as she entered his quarters; she was going to leave again very soon, but she had to see him first because he'd tried at least to help her and she did still care for him as friends do. Al was sleeping though when she entered; his body laid out almost in a very stiff and unnatural looking slumber, a slight sickly green glow could barely be seen from under the bed. Kes frowned slightly; maybe she should try to help him out, go back in time and prevent the assimilation from ever having happened, but no she'd messed around with time travel once and it got herself killed… Well her future self, who was her past self, who was actually her alternate self… Wow; that really did hurt when you tried to rationalize it.

"Hello, who are you?" A tiny voice asked innocently as a little head peaked out from the refresher.

"My name is Kes; who are you?" She asked smiling at the child; the young girl smiled back revealing razor sharp teeth and she hopped out of the other room flicking a tail back in to shut the lights off.

"I'm Amy; if you wanted to see my daddy I'm afraid he's really exerted a lot of energy today so he's regenerating right now, you could come back tomorrow." The girl suggested; Kes was taken aback by the term daddy, but she smiled and shook her head.

"I'm afraid I'm leaving for my home world tonight." She returned. "I just wanted to thank your daddy for what he tried to do and apologize for almost hurting him." Kes added; Amy nodded.

"I'll let him know when he wakes up." She informed before a tiny yawn escaped her. "It was nice meeting you Kes." She added, Kes smiled and knelt to give the child a quick hug.

"And you too Amy; goodnight." She whispered; she couldn't see him again to let him know in person, but that was the price one had to pay, perhaps she'd send him a message before she got too far away on her ship. They could talk then; turning she left the room and made her way to the transporter room, it was time to say goodbye to another, again, poor Neelix it must still hurt knowing that she wasn't around anymore.

* * *

Personal Log: Stardate… I really don't have time for that; A quick update to my logs since it's been a little while, since Amy's been around I've kind of neglected these things. Anyway the Decepticons are doing well in their training sessions; at least according to Megatron, the fact that the Borg vessel commanded by this Deathsaurus guy hasn't showed up yet bothers me, but we are nearing the time when Seven first introduced Unimatrix Zero to the crew. Not much else to say right now; I promised Sam I'd take her and Naomi to the holodeck with Amy, and tonight Serenity wants me to… Ahem; well that's beside the point, I'd better get on with this tomorrow the ship will be shutting down all power so we can let that nebula living entity off the ship so I really want to finish reading Rumble's reports.

"Daddy; I'm scared." Amy exclaimed as almost every light shut down; except of course the constant green glow of our regeneration beds, how fortunate I designed them with independent power sources.

"It's ok little one." I called as she rushed into my lap having dropped the toys she'd been playing with. "Everything will be fine." I reassured stroking her hair as she nuzzled up against me, her tiny tail wrapping about my waist.

"Tell me a story." She pleaded whimpering as she spoke; I smiled at that and held her close seeking out a perfect story.

"Once upon a time; in a land far, far away lived a beautiful princess, her name was Snow White." I began choosing a heartwarming tale from my childhood; Amy clutched me in the near dark of our quarters and listened intently as I wove the tale of Walt Disney's first full length animated feature.

* * *

I was most disturbed; Deathsaurus of Borg was taking longer then I would have thought to track us down, Ratbat had reported their proximity twice now. And each time the vessel was forced to alter course or risk detection by Species eight four seven two; or at least that was his excuse; it made me suspicious of their motives. Could they be toying with us? The Captain and her crew were growing on edge about having the Decepticons aboard; I couldn't blame them, it was difficult to get my units to comply with my deactivation schedule at times. Amy was experiencing slight anxiety as we drew closer to Eternia's location in the delta quadrant; I could tell she wasn't truly happy that we knew where her home planet was, she didn't want to leave me. Megatron and I had suddenly been summoned this morning; I sighed, I did not want to partake of this Unimatrix Zero fiasco, but I had little choice.

"Another round with the Borg." Tom was saying as we entered the conference room; or whatever you wished to call it.

"We'd only need to infiltrate a single vessel." Seven countered; she was most adamant about this, which concerned me.

"Oh; just one." Tom retorted sarcastically.

"I am prepared to take a shuttle and do this alone." Seven stated turning her attentions to the Captain.

"No offense, but; how do you know that this wasn't some kind of dream?" Harry asked switching positions with Tom.

"Seven was wearing a cortical monitor." The Doctor spoke up closing ranks with Harry and Seven; I stood silently near the entranceway, it was pointless to get involved at this junction. "She never reached REM sleep, she wasn't dreaming." He informed.

"Unimatrix Zero is real." Seven proclaimed once again turning from Harry to address the Captain. "And so are the people that go there; they need our help." She stated.

"What else can you tell us about this place?" She asked; I fidgeted slightly, bad enough we had a Borg ship seemingly playing cat and mouse with us; we didn't need other vessels around should they choose to attack.

"How many drones?" Janeway added taking Megatron by surprise judging from his sudden tight lipped appearance, he was deep in thought.

"No one is certain." Seven replied. "Axum told me there could be ten."

"Axum?" Janeway interjected before Seven could finish.

"He's someone I used to know." Seven clarified. "He told me there could be tens of thousands; perhaps more." She returned to the previous train of discussion without so much as batting an eye.

"How was it created?" Janeway wondered; I strode forward now and moved to the window glancing out at the stars to still my emotions, I had come close to an outburst at the Captain because of this back and forth.

"Some of them believe it began as a random malfunction that began during the assimilation of a single drone; and eventually spread to the others." Seven revealed; Megatron was most interested by this discussion, though I knew not why.

"Well this is all very interesting, but; are we sure its' worth putting our lives on the line?" B'Elanna asked sounding almost haughty in tone; I smirked at that, there is after all always some element of risk no matter the course of action taken.

"It's my understanding that when we receive a distress call; we respond, Starfleet protocols." Seven argued raising the logical points I knew she would.

"She's right." Harry agreed. "This is no different."

"I understand your reluctance, but Seven's discovered a potential weakness in the collective; before we decide how to proceed I'd like to learn as much about it as we can." Janeway stated in typical fashion; she always was one for delaying or halting potential threats to her crew, and the Borg were a constant no matter what quadrant you were in.

"Too bad you don't have the luxury of an interlink node." Chakotay remarked sounding almost in jest; though I knew he was taking this seriously.

"There is another possibility." Tuvok spoke up. "A Vulcan technique known as the bridging of minds." He revealed.

"Go on." Janeway urged.

"I would need to initiate a mind meld with both you and Seven; acting as a telepathic conduit." He explained.

"You make it sound like a conference call." The Doctor broke in. "Captain; it is my professional opinion that we."

"Objection noted." Janeway interrupted before the Doc could get anymore words in. "I think you'll be turning in early tonight." She added speaking directly to Seven.

"This is all quite fascinating, but why call us to the meeting?" I asked disrupting the silence now filling the room.

"We want you to continue relaying your monitoring information from the pyramid." Janeway revealed turning to me now. "In case they try something; and we'd like one or two of your… Units; to assist should it be needed." She added glancing briefly to Megatron.

"Very well." I returned.

"This could be advantageous to us." Megatron spoke up with a brief smile. "If some of these drones are aboard the pyramid vessel; when the time comes they may be able to sabotage it from within." He elaborated eyeing me thoughtfully.

"With our luck Q has made certain that no drones suffering… Oh; pardon me, experiencing this phenomena; will actually be aboard her." I shot back sourly before taking my leave; there was much work to be done, and not a lot of time to do it in.

* * *

The ship shook under the attack; there was little I could do, the Captain had ordered me and my men to remain out of this fight. She wanted to keep a trump card up her sleeve; just in case things didn't work out, I sighed as the attack continued.

"This is pointless." Starscream exclaimed; Megatron shot him a glare, but Thrust was the one to address him.

"Pointless; I think not, for once these humans are using their heads." He stated with a smirk. "Perhaps we won't need to deal with Deathsaurus' ship after all."

"But I want some action." Dirge complained; I growled slightly and turned on them from our position as observers.

"Silence; it is not time to second guess this crew, we have more pressing concerns to deal with." I snapped; the Decepticons silently agreed. "Megatron; double the battle simulations, I have a distinct feeling we'll be engaging our foes shortly." I ordered; the Decepticon leader nodded in agreement and they left me to my thoughts, this was going to be very trying and I knew it wasn't a good sign.

* * *

The Pyramid shaped vessel escaped Transwarp velocities directly on cue; the shuttle bay aboard Voyager flew open, and several vehicles emerged zeroing in on the massive war vessel in tight formation. The three pyramid shaped fighters led the attack; laser fire tearing out from hidden weapons ports to run jagged lines across the Borg vessel without any difficulty in breaching their shields.  
The assortment of mixed fighters zipped across the axis of the attacking vessel and launched missiles; these payloads detonated in close proximity to several key structures aboard the ship, exploding into a flurry of flames. These flames were quickly stifled in the cold nothingness of space; however the damage was telling, the vessel in question began to separate into twin assault vessels. Two futuristic fighter craft zipped in as a second wave accompanied by a smaller gold and black metallic condor, massive amounts of laser fire were poured into the center of the separating vessel resulting in massive explosions; the ship trembled in space as though it were being assailed by an Earthquake. Three more warriors slipped out of the shuttle bay and doubled up the assault as the fighters continued to zip about blasting away and picking off pieces of the hull; the ship began to die slowly, and in the end the final shot from the lead pyramid fighter caused the vessel to detonate and become nothing more then tiny sparks of metallic dust. Standing on the bridge of the Voyager simulation Megatron shared a look with his trusted lieutenant Soundwave; he was frowning, the attack had taken too long.

"We shall try this again until you get it right Starscream." He commanded via intercommunication channels. "This is not your personal vendetta; and kindly stop showboating for the Borg, just take out the ship before it manages to destroy us." He snapped; a slight grumbling could be heard from the other end, but Starscream grudgingly led his team back to the shuttle bay so that they could take it from the beginning.

"Computer restart simulation." Soundwave ordered in his monotonous toned voice.

* * *

"There is a seventy-five percent success rate so far." Megatron informed me a half hour after the recent simulations. "The vessel is quite impressive." He added appraisingly.

"I knew I should have tried creating Galvatron." I grumbled; Megatron shot me a glare, fortunately he knew I was merely expressing frustrations at a lack of total success rate.

"Perhaps Trypticon would have been better." He scoffed; I chuckled at that.

"We both know the Captain would ever approve a city-sized Decepticon, besides I was never confident in my ability to downsize him." I pointed out; Megatron smirked, this was driving me to frustration. The Captain had been rash in her decision to infiltrate the cube; though she would have a slightly better understanding of my feelings towards them. That of course is when the whole ship began to shake violently; and I could hear slight sounds of explosions.

"Trouble." Rumble observed rushing out of the Mess Hall where he'd been watching over Amy while I conferred with Megatron in the corridor.

"Alert the others; we may be needed." I ordered Megatron; the Decepticon nodded and raced off, yet again I cursed the fact that I had to deactivate the Decepticons instead of having them on standby twenty-four seven.

* * *

"Hold steady you mindless automaton." Starscream hissed as he affixed a new hull plating onto the damaged sector.

"Oh shut up, Commander." Skywarp shot back snidely. "To think we're reduced to menial repair work." He grumbled; Starscream shot him a glare, Ramjet however was the one to speak up.

"This vessel is our only means to traverse the cosmos; I for one think we should help take care of it." He stated; the others eyed him briefly. "At least until we can find a more suitable warship that is." He added with a smirk; Thrust and Dirge chuckled at that before resuming their task, scrambling along the hull they began to seal another patch over the damaged sector.

* * *

I entered Sickbay when all was said and done to find the Captain sitting in her bio bed; Seven was standing nearby and Janeway was smiling, I hated to have to bring her bad news, but it couldn't be helped.

"Captain; Ratbat reports Deathsaurus is still approaching, he appears to have lost whatever was holding him back." I informed. "He should be here in approximately four days; their vessel was slightly sabotaged by a free drone before…" I trailed off leaving the rest unspoken; I hadn't known the being personally, but I owed him or her a great deal.

"Are the Decepticons ready?" She asked causing me to start; I still wasn't used to hearing her say that, it was so… Surreal.

"Fully prepared; though they intend to run several more training assaults." I returned with a slight nod.

"Good; keep me posted." She requested; I inclined my head and turned to leave. "Oh and Ensign." She called bringing me to pause; I glanced briefly back at her. "I'm beginning to see why you hate the Queen so much." She spoke softly; a small smile of shared understanding passed between us and then I left, Amy was calling and I aimed to keep her happy, now more so then ever.

To Be Continued; **We're coming up to the whole focal point of this title, soon it shall indeed be WAR AGAINST THE COLLECTIVE! Be here or be forever lost in space, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	7. Chapter 7 War Against the Collective

**Author's Notes:** I'm updating this story as well, but for those of you who may or may not have been following my writing from the beginning I also plan to post the first chapter of the third installment of my Crisis on Earth 929 series of tales, which takes place after the Star Trek stories are finished. Don't ask me why; I just felt in the mood to start posting it up I guess. It'll be in the Marvel section titled Rampage in NYC, if you're the type of person that doesn't mind reading ahead/out of order then by all means check it out, it's not like I spoil any of the major plot developments in these stories... At least nothing that hasn't already been established in my earlier Star Trek tales... And so without further ado I go on to update and create new adventures.

* * *

Personal Logs Supplemental: Concerning my recent venture into the world of parenting, I don't envy my own parents the tasks they must have endured during my upbringing because it couldn't compare to what I've been through. Amy's a real handful at times, just the other day was our first real disagreement; she didn't want to take a shower because she didn't think it was necessary. Fortunately Serenity and I managed to convince her the proper hygiene protocols; she's just testing her boundaries, like any young child would.  
The hardest part by far is raising a carnivore, she wants to eat lots of meat, which is only natural; the problem stems from the fact that she wants to eat everything I eat and only what I eat. It's cute really, but she's not going to get the nutritional supplements she needs eating the diet of an omnivore. Fortunately for me the Doc's little suggestion has played out better then I could have hoped; considering I'm nigh-immortal eating a carnivores diet in order to get her to eat the proper foods isn't going to kill me. It's a little disgusting having all that raw meat entering my system; especially when the blood drips down my throat… I don't know if she can get sick, but I'm not going to take any chances with that.

Personal Note: Sharing our thoughts and emotions isn't any easier now then it was when I first regained consciousness and found her beside me, but I wouldn't miss it for all the world, every parent is so awed by their children. As the years go by however they tend to lose touch; unintentionally for the most part, but it happens. I know that can never happen between us; we'll always be able to feel each other within our minds, the only time our link is off besides when we're asleep is when Serenity and I need alone time, which is a good thing for Serenity because she's really starting to become an animal in bed with her needs and all.  
The Captain has informed me that we have finally managed to contact her surviving relatives; she's spoken to them personally via sub-space communiqué and they are eager to see her and me… My fears that these familial relations might force Amy to remain with them; or perhaps shun her because of what has happened to her, and I don't know what I'll do if it comes down to that.

We aren't really focusing on that though; it is only a day to go before the Borg pyramid attacks, and with the Captain's permission I've set up a holodeck program to help put the crew at ease and help them unwind prior to the big confrontation…

* * *

The doors to the holodeck opened revealing a scene from my youth that I held in fond regard; Amy stood beside me feeling awe and wonder while I experienced pangs of regret and nostalgia, we were on a plot of land. It was approximately four acres in size, relatively flat with a large two hundred and twenty-five foot wide by one hundred foot deep concrete edifice, which stood approximately in the center of this land. A large assortment of posts stood in rows twenty-five feet apart from each other, each post was an off white in color with two speakers per post; and each post was six feet apart from its closest neighbor allowing the large assortment of automobiles to sit in between two sets of them.  
It was a warm late spring evening with the sun lazily sinking in the west and numerous crew members walking to and from the concession stand loaded with assortments of hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, soda pop, cheeseburgers, onion rings, candy bars and french fries. Directly ahead on the distant area near the ugly faded fence that surrounded the property was a large hundred and thirty-five foot wide by fifty foot high screen; indeed it was a sight that took one back to an era of enjoyment and excitement.

"What is this place Daddy?" Amy asked me her small hand still clutched tightly in my larger one, her voice mystified by her surroundings.

"The Cineplex Odeon Drive-In." I replied with a warm smile and a stray tear trickling down my cheek. "A page from the past little one, my past; that filled me with an almost magical feeling at times when I was growing up. My father worked here a good seven years of his life, it seems like every summer we'd be here watching a movie; more often then not for free." I elaborated glancing around the drive-in with great fondness; Amy scrunched up her brow in deep thought.

"Then he would be my grandfather?" She wondered glancing up at me with a shining expression of joy on her face.

"Indeed little one." I replied a mischievous smile spreading across my features; if dad could see me now, what would he say? He'd take to Amy like a duck takes to water; he always was a big hearted kind of guy when it concerned kids, I mean he had to be considering the large family he came from and all that.

"Can I see where he worked?" She asked in a hushed voice; I smiled at her words and nodded, leading her by the hand we approached the right hand corner of the building. We climbed the three steps and I opened the door; it wasn't locked in this program, because it had never been locked for me, Amy entered first. Directly in front of us was the ugly looking bathroom I remembered so well, a few stray mosquitoes and a cricket moving about the room; a filing cabinet sat in the left hand corner with an old stool standing next to it.  
A large metal desk sat to my right with a bunch of slots underneath for cans of film; an assortment of tools littered the desktop as well as an old tarnished plastic cup, the kind McDonalds used to give out as a cross promotion for movies, inside were lots of writing implements and an old metal letter opener. A speaker hung just above and to the right of the door and a large glass window cut us off from the room where the two big projectors sat.

"Hey; you're not allowed in here." A gruff sounding voice stated as a very familiar face emerged from the projector room; he was roughly five foot six, rather husky, balding with a pair of glasses perched on his face and a five-o-clock shadow that was nigh invisible because of his graying hair. Amy dashed behind my legs in fear and peaked out with her intense little eyes.

"Forgive me d… Uh; sir, but my daughter wished to see how the movie works." I explained with a chuckle.

"Your daughter." He remarked glancing down at Amy and placing his tray of food onto the desk, I could see the french fries and good old fashioned hamburger sitting on top of the popcorn. "Why she's adorable, what's your name little one?" He asked in a jovial tone leaning down to look her in the eyes.

"Amy." She replied shyly averting her gaze. "_Is he grandpa?"_ She asked internally.

"_A holographic representation of him._" I replied with a wistful smile.

"That's a nice name, well Amy you see those big machines there?" He asked pointing out the projectors; Amy shook her head because of course she couldn't see and dad beckoned her closer, tentatively she moved to join him in the doorway between the sections of the room. Her eyes widened in amazement at the sight of what I knew to be back there; a pity even in my time the technology of this era was slowly weeding out the old fossils like them. "Those are called projectors." He explained. "They run the film through them and using this light bulb here." He continued moving over to one of the huge grey monsters and opening up one compartment in the front to point out the source of light in question. "They project the images recorded on the film in conjunction with this lens." He elaborated indicating the lens in question. "Onto that big screen way out there." He added pointing out the window. "The picture gets blown up a thousand times over and because they're moving through the machine so fast they create an image of movement." He finished with a big smile; Amy took all this in without saying a word, I could tell she was slightly confused by what he'd said because the entertainment media was different from holodecks and the like, so I sent her a quick concise logical explanation through our link that her nanoprobes could easily help clarify.

"Oh wow that's neat." She remarked with genuine fascination; suddenly a knock came at the door outside and the man glanced up in clear annoyance.

"I'll turn them away." I volunteered opening the door a crack to find the sun had almost gone down while we were talking; the Captain was standing at the bottom of the steps with a slight frown on her lips.

"A word Ensign." She requested.

"I'll be right outside, da… Er; sir do you mind watching Amy for a minute?" I asked turning back to the holographic projectionist.

"Not at all." He replied with a friendly grin; I stepped outside and joined the Captain with a slightly cowed expression.

"I don't seem to recall re-instating your holodeck privileges." She began bringing my nostalgia high crashing down. "So consider them re-instated, on a temporary basis." She added with surprisingly enough a wink; I relaxed visibly and let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding in.

"So now that, that's out of the way, we were wondering how much longer until the movie starts?" Harry asked coming around the corner with a smile and Jenny Delaney on his arm.

"As soon as the sun sets Harry." Tom replied joining us with B'Elanna. "Great program by the way Al, perfect down to the last detail and I love the car you gave us." He congratulated slapping me across the back.

"Mister Desrochers what are these fascinating food products?" Neelix asked as he also joined us holding up an onion ring with one hand and taking a bite.

"They're called onion rings Neelix." Tom supplied before I could even consider voicing a reply, he reached over and snuck one off of Neelix's tray popping it in his mouth before the Talaxian could protest. "Thinly sliced onions breaded to add that crunch and fried in a batch of oil." He explained further moving to take a second one only to have Neelix whisk his tray out of reach and B'Elanna scold him with a playful slap on the wrist.

"Wow; I don't even have to talk anymore." I quipped with a wry smile as the sun drew even with the horizon.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen, attention; the show will be starting in five minutes." The projectionists' voice called over the speakers, Tom slipped around Neelix and grabbed a handful of his onion rings before racing off back to his car B'Elanna and Neelix hot on his heels for two separate reasons. Harry chuckled and escorted Jenny to their waiting automobile leaving me alone with the Captain.

"A wonderful idea Ensign, if you'll excuse me I'd like to get some of those onion rings for myself and perhaps one of those cheeseburgers Chakotay suggested I try." She stated heading around the corner to the front entrance of the concession stand; I chuckled and quickly opened the door back into the projectionists' room.

"Thank you sir, now we'd better get back to our car." I stated as Amy rejoined me.

"Come back anytime young man; you remind me a little of my own son." He called as he moved to make sure everything was in working order, I smiled at that.

"You can count on it dad." I whispered feeling a slight pang of homesickness before heading out and over to where our car had been placed, the door flew up with a hiss of hydraulics and Serenity stuck her head out.

"Hurry up; Sam, Megan and Naomi got back with the refreshments ten minutes ago." She called as I slipped into the drivers' seat and helped Amy up into my lap; she settled down quickly enough and lay back with a happy little sigh. I smiled at her expression and reached for my drink careful not to dislodge the time circuits' switch.

"This car should be a lot more cramped." Megan remarked from a back seat that shouldn't exist.

"Can you guys see all right past us tall people?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Just fine Al." Sam returned with a slight smirk as she passed up the popcorn to Serenity who immediately began snacking, her eyes closed as she savored the first few bites.

"You humans make remarkable food." She complimented as at last the sun fully set; Amy reached across her lap for some fries as the Merry Melodies blared and the Loony Toons logo popped up quickly replaced with an image of someone's office. The chair behind the desk swiveled around to reveal me, well movie me at any rate; a warm smile of greeting plastered across my face.

"Welcome to the Cineplex Odeon Drive-In folks; a program I created to help the crew unwind on occasion with a glimpse at good old twentieth-century entertainment… And maybe a few surprises." The me on screen spoke up clasping his hands together as he leaned forward across the desk and his eyes seemed to rove across the drive-in proper. "I was here a lot of summers while my dad worked here; so I've got fond memories of the place, I trust most of you will find this program enjoyable, perhaps even a bit campy much like we of the twenty-first century find things from the fifties and sixties as campy… A whole lot of you probably don't even know more then my name; so instead of boring you with further words I'll just sign off and let you get on with the entertainment… A, Th-Th-Th-That's All Folks." He stammered much like Porky Pig before the iris closed and vanished replacing the image on screen with total black.

* * *

Thunder and lightning shattered the blackness unexpectedly causing Amy to jump with fright in her father's lap and causing him to drop some of his popcorn; a pristine landscape appeared on screen as a low tune began to play.

"This is the story of a time long ago, a time of myths and legends; where a world in turmoil cried out for heroes." The narrators' voice began in a rich baritone as the music began to build and the landscape was revealed even further in a most impressive crane shot. "The ancient Gods were petty and cruel as they plagued mankind with suffering, but one man dared to challenge their power." He continued as the image of the man in question appeared on the screen, the first title slammed onto the screen in a flashy display… Hercules; The Legendary Journeys.

"He was Hercules, son of Zeus and defender of the innocent; he traveled the world battling the minions of his wicked step mother Hera. The all powerful queen of the Gods, but he was not alone in his battle." The image flashed to reveal another man who appeared shorter then Hercules; and then a raven haired beauty in leather armor appeared on screen and a new title slammed into the foreground much as the first had… Xena; Warrior Princess, which also caused the music to change slightly.  
"She was Xena, a mighty warrior forged in the heat of battle; witness the power, the passion as these heroes must face the greatest challenge of all…" The final title moved to cover almost the entire screen and Amy who had been ensnared by the strange almost fantasy aspect of it all giggled slightly at the absurdity of the title, which read… Rise of Dahawk.

"Starring…" The Narrator spoke up once again as multiple images now flashed across the screen just long enough to display the wonderful cast of characters… Hercules races down a dirt road as his name appears leading in front of him, perpendicular to his chest. Iolaus ducks under a sword with a slight expression of fear before he lashes out at his unseen attacker, Xena raises her Chakram prepared to throw it a fierce look of determination on her own face, Gabrielle half-spins smashing her staff across three goons and sending them crashing to the ground, Zeus, Hera, Ares, Hades, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Athena and several other lesser Gods flash across the screen in rapid succession followed by the loveable Salmoneous and self-proclaimed King of Thieves Autolycus.

"And Co-Starring…" The Narrator adds as though a big production; and several shots of bumbling, fumbling Joxer play out as a barely audible version of his theme plays in the background. "Witness the ascension, the darkness, the betrayal and finally… The fall of a dark God in this exciting feature length adventure; brought to you by acclaimed director/producer Peter Jackson, maker of The Lord of the Rings trilogy." The narrator finished as the title now fully assembled once more slams onto the screen; and then of course the usual spiel at the end of any film with release dates and cast lists and all that. "This film is not yet rated."

"Why'd you make that?" Megan asked from the backseat.

"It's called a preview." Al replied as the movie proper began to start. "Now shush or you'll miss the best part." He added stroking Amy's hair as the opening credits rolled and a very familiar title appeared.

"Back to the Future." Megan exclaimed. "Isn't that where you got that Barbie prop from?" She asked.

"Shhhh." Naomi and Amy both hissed turning fascinated back to the screen; Megan sighed and sat back nibbling on her popcorn, she just hoped this movie was going to be good.

* * *

Deathsaurus of Borg was prepared; his inhibitions had been destroyed thanks in part to that foolish Captain Janeway and her unleashing those within Unimatrix Zero, he now had nothing to fear for the fear had been destroyed along with his weak willed sub-conscious who had been part of Unimatrix Zero. Instead of being freed from the collective as the others had; something unexpected had occurred, his sub-conscious form had been destroyed and now he was free to reclaim the mate… No; **he** was impure, he did not deserve to be her mate that was a job better suited for Deathsaurus, yes he would claim that the mate died and he would simply take his place.

* * *

The Captain had done a most unexpected thing upon my arrival to the bridge; she had given me the Captains' chair, I was in direct command of this vessel for the duration of the attack. It left one with a sour pit in his stomach, or at least a flock of butterflies; Soundwave stood to my right at perfect attention while the others were prepared down in the shuttle bays for launch.

"Incoming Borg vessel." Harry alerted as the lighting dimmed and we instantly changed from yellow to red alert. "It's the pyramid." He added as though it would be any other ship.

"Alert the Decepticons to stand by." I ordered; this would be a most epic confrontation, despite the added advantage of having holographic allies; I just hoped Amy would be safe with only four of the Cassetticons guarding over her.

"We are being hailed." Tuvok announced.

"On screen." I commanded allowing the mantle of Captain to fall over me; my first sight of Deathsaurus, he sat within a central command seat similar to a throne in appearance. The fact that he was sitting made it hard to judge his height; he did not look like any species I'd seen before, in fact his Borg body was covered entirely in black armor and seemed to throw off an odd reddish glow, as though the Queen had built this drone rather then assimilated him. His entire head was practically engulfed by a black helmet, which served to hide whatever face lay beneath save the mouth; this looked vaguely organic, with sharp carnivorous teeth and strangely enough a forked tongue. There were no discernable eyes, however a smooth glass or perhaps plastic was situated where eyes might be on a regular humanoid. One arm ended in an attachment I did not recognize; while the other arm actually revealed an organic creatures arm, but one who had been obviously sewed together for it possessed nine fingers, five of which ended with sharp claws.

"You intend to surrender?" He inquired his voice the same deep and grating tone we'd heard in that recording all those many months before.

"I am prepared to resist." I returned with a hiss.

"As you wish; however you do realize resistance is futile." Deathsaurus returned; I smirked at that and glanced briefly to Soundwave.

"We shall see Borg, we shall see." I stated in a darker tone of voice; Deathsaurus was unfazed.

"Prepare to assimilate that vessel." He ordered to his drones off screen; speaking aloud his commands instead of relaying them through the hive mind, perhaps this drone was more akin to Locutus then Picard would have liked had he been here.

"Fire at will Air Commander." I stated via intercom adopting the Emperor's tone of voice; Harry input commands quickly and I could feel the shuttle bay doors opening through the deck plates. The Decepticons launched almost as one with Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker leading while Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet remained in reserve.

"Mister Paris; evasive maneuvers." I added as the Pyramid began to open fire; the ship shook under enemy fire, but not for long as Tom brought us out of weapons range; or so it would appear. Panels began to slide open on the underside of the Borg vessel and torpedoes began to scream out into space at a rapid pace; only to meet heavy resistance as Laserbeak, Squalkbox, Overkill and Slugfest opened fire with their primary weapons.

"Heat seeking missiles, seek heat!" Skywarp exclaimed firing his arsenal at the attacking vessel; his payload detonated upon the shields, tearing open a gap for his teammates laser fire to rip apart that section of the hull plating. Voyager was a highly maneuverable vessel when called upon; and while the Decepticons succeeded in distracting the Borg we prepared a little surprise for them, forward torpedoes were launched penetrating at a point already weakened by the continued bombardment of the primary offenders. Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet flew in a tight formation per the simulated attack runs' strategies; they circled past the axis of the ship and came around behind seeking out the generator for the shields, I watched as weapons fire ripped through space and a tiny explosion could be seen.

"Who was that?" I demanded knowing that my plan hadn't worked exactly as I'd hoped, there weren't supposed to be any casualties.

"Cyclonus I think." Starscream replied via encrypted communiqué. "But I can't be sure; our assault seems to be weakening the vessel." He added overconfidently.

"Weakening yes, destroying no; and they're doubling their efforts to damage us." I shot back as Voyager shook under direct fire.

"Shields have dropped fourteen percent." Soundwave relayed in place of Tuvok.

"Separation is commencing." Scourge relayed; all eyes turned to the pyramid, the Decepticon was correct, the Borg had begun their ships separation protocols.

"Concentrate all weapons fire within the central nexus." I ordered; the groupings of Decepticons retained their formations and began to fire repeatedly, unfortunately their practice sessions hadn't exactly factored in the Borgs' tenacity. Phaser fire tore across the stars and two more explosions could be detected as the mobile emitters of two other Decepticons were successfully hit, they weren't using their mobility as effectively as they should have been.  
"Ready more photon torpedoes." I ordered glancing briefly to Tuvok, Janeway was standing on the upper level eyeing me critically; I shot her an encouraging grin. "Relax Captain I won't lose this battle; there is yet a hand to be played." I added in a softer tone.

"I'm gonna teach'em a lesson in sorrow for what they did to Thrust and Ramjet!" Dirge proclaimed breaking formation with Scourge and Buzzsaw; he ripped through the shields and flew directly towards the central nexus intending to blow it sky high, all he got for his troubles was erasure as another phaser blast ripped through space.

"They are charging some sort of unknown weapon within the vessel." Soundwave spoke up alerting me to information he was receiving from Ratbat.

"Unknown?" I repeated incredulously. "How'd Ratbat miss that?" I demanded shooting a glare at the communications expert.

"Power signature lay dormant." Soundwave explained.

"That better not be a Death Star laser in their." I growled before whirling back to see what was about to be unleashed; Tom had already anticipated problems and was moving us as far away as fast as he could, but it was too little too late. An immense energy beam tore out of the separated halves of the Borg Pyramid; it ripped across space heading directly towards us, Scourge and Thundercracker were obliterated being directly in its' path. The ship itself sustained massive damages as consoles exploded and power went offline; I tumbled out of the Captains chair and a gash cut open on my forehead, which swiftly healed.

"We are being boarded." Tuvok alerted as klaxons blared all around; and the whine of a transporter could be heard, two drones materialized on the bridge and began to approach Tom only to be struck down by Soundwave.

"Alert all remaining forces to fall back to the ship, we must protect it… Oh and Soundwave, kindly relay to Ratbat that if he wishes to make amends for failing to notice that killer death ray, he can just bloody well do some internal sabotage and blow that ship apart!" I shouted angrily before rising quickly to my feet and relinquishing command of the ship back to Janeway, if I knew my villains right Deathsaurus would be intent on following the technorganic signature; which could mean unfortunately that he'd accidentally locked onto Amy. Rushing over to the turbo lift I quickly made my way down to our deck.

"Report; how many Borg have beamed aboard?" Janeway demanded moving over to Harry's post.

"Seventy." He replied fearfully, the Captain's face fell slightly.

"We've got to get main power back." She mused aloud. "Options people?" She asked glancing about to her senior staff.

"We could always try praying to Al's God." Tom quipped doing his best to lighten the mood surrounding this situation.

"Unnecessary; Starscream and the remaining Decepticon forces have returned, intruders will be vaporized." Soundwave reported having not left the bridge alongside his master.

* * *

Jenny screamed in terror as the Borg drones materialized in the Mess Hall after the ship lost primary power; Lieutenant Walter Baxter was the first genuine casualty, his neck broken when the lieutenant was thrown into the bulkhead by the drone he'd attacked. The rest of the crew who had been eating or just plain enjoying some time together desperately tried to escape the attackers; the mess hall's doors slid open without warning and twin robotic dinosaurs charged in weapons systems firing. The projectiles passed harmlessly through the organic crewmembers and even their uniforms, but when they came in contact with the Borgs' unique biological signatures they caused sever damage killing them instantly.

"Stay calm everyone; they're here to help." Neelix called over the din of weapons fire; soon enough the drones were no longer a threat, however they'd killed two more crewmen Jenny didn't know the names of and almost assimilated a third who wasn't so heroic.

* * *

Elsewhere attacking Borg drones in engineering were assaulted by Buzzsaw and Skywarp while Beastbox, Squalktalk and Laserbeak split up to track down the other intruders. This however proved to be a most daunting challenge security personnel were deployed by Tuvok; unfortunately unlike the Decepticons the Borg could easily adapt to the standard issue phase rifle, fortunately for the Starfleet crew these drones seemed to be losing focus as though no longer part of the hive mind.

* * *

Deathsaurus was unaware of this; for he was leading his personal troops to face the mate, former mate, after all in the end he would be the mate and this pathetic fool would no longer prove a threat. The creature that was Deathsaurus of Borg came up to the doorway; the signature was beyond, the doors opened and he marched into a room, these were the targets quarters.

"Daddy is that you?" A young female voice called; Deathsaurus snapped to the left and spotted a child standing near the entrance to what humans termed a refresher, she cowered at the sight of him. "You're not Daddy." She proclaimed trembling slightly as she tried to hide.

"So he has assimilated an offspring for himself." Deathsaurus remarked in sinister glee. "That shall be his undoing." He added making to take a step forward.

"Undo this ya reject!" Rumble cried springing up into his robotic form and driving both pile drivers into the mechanical behemoth; Deathsaurus however had been built specifically by the queen to deal with the mate's unique powers, she'd culled his armor from one of the universes she'd managed to breach. He barely felt the impact; and in turn rammed his machine hand into Rumble sending a jolt of energy through the hologram and shorting out his emitter forcing him to deactivate.

"No way! You're gonna pay!" Frenzy screamed in rage not caring that he came off as in illiterate punk with his words; Deathsaurus seemed bemused at this threat, he easily took care of Frenzy in the similar fashion to Rumble. A low growl escaped from the shadows as Ravage appeared; instead of rushing blindly towards the enemy he targeted the entranceway with his hip rockets and fired. The drones accompanying Deathsaurus were swiftly dispatched; Deathsaurus himself however wasn't even heavily damaged, he merely had a few tiny dents and one insignificant scratch running across one of his strange looking eyes.

"And now that the rabble have been dealt with you shall come with me." He proclaimed stomping towards the frightened little girl; only to come up short as a glowing crimson blade snapped into existence three inches from his neck.

"Lay one insignificant piece of your twisted mechanical form on her and I'll not only eviscerate you, I'll personally program the holodeck so I can feed your parts to the Sharkticons." **He **growled at last revealing himself; Deathsaurus smiled darkly and turned slowly to face the target.

"That will not be necessary; provided you come with me without further resistance." Deathsaurus stated; the mate smirked darkly glaring with narrowed optics at this foolish creature.

"You truly believe I would ever willingly return to that vile waste." He snapped a slight hiss echoing in his tone. "You are sorely mistaken." He added leveling the blade into a pose of readiness; Deathsaurus curled his lip, how dare **he **denounce his future mate like that.

"Very well; then I shall kill you and take this young one, she will serve just as well in issuing in our new world order, I shall make her the perfect daughter for my future mate." He stated profoundly; the former mate curled his lip in clear rage his knuckles turning whiter as his grip tightened, time seemed to stand still as both warriors stood their ground soon to begin what could possibly amount to an epic struggle.  
The former mate however was not interested in fighting this second tier villain; at least in his mind that's what he considered Deathsaurus to be, comparing him to something as inane as a comic book character. He shot Amy an encouraging smile and reached one hand behind his back; grasping the implement of destruction hidden there he leveled it in one smooth motion upon the Borg creature… His weapon was in his hand and he pulled the trigger; Deathsaurus' eyes could not widen in shock, but the surprise was self-evident as he was gutted by the force of the blast; he collapsed to the floor vital systems already shutting down.

"Pathetic." Amy's father remarked with a slight sneer. "Always have a contingency plan." He added holding Megatron up and blowing on the barrel of his weapon form as though blowing smoke away from a gun shot.

"The drones have been taken care of." Starscreams' voice spoke up from the intercom.

"Good; now as long as Ratbat has dealt with that blasted pyramid vessel we can forget the Borg." He stated.

* * *

The Cassetticon in question was currently doing just that; or more accurately was attempting to flee the vessel he'd convinced to self destruct before it blew up and took him with it. Locating a Borg transporter he swiftly convinced one of the drones to activate it; beaming over to the bridge of Voyager he spotted Soundwave and moved to perch on his shoulder.

"Ratbat returns." Soundwave informed for no apparent reason.

"Did we win?" Tom asked glancing around in uncertainty.

"I do not know Mister Paris." Tuvok returned. "However the Borg vessel is building up tremendous energy and will most likely…" Before he could finish the report the entire pyramid shaped craft exploded; the explosion tore apart the internal workings of the vessel and proceeded to engulf it in flames, which quickly snuffed out as there was no oxygen in space and the escaping atmosphere of the doomed vessel was quickly consumed. Nothing remained of the Borg; their ship destroyed and the attacking drones already taken care of, though not without casualties; the Captain sat back in her seat and closed her eyes taking a moment to compose herself.

"Starscream and Skywarp are on deck ten." Soundwave stated speaking to an unknown.

"Not anymore." Came Beastbox's reply. "Squalktalk and I just took care of'em permanent like." He added.

"Megatron is with the creator." Soundwave stated before turning to look at Ratbat. "Mission objective complete; we are no longer required, Ratbat, final command; initiate endgame protocol." He ordered; the mechanical bat squeaked slightly with a look of almost pure sorrow, then he darted in and proceeded to crush Soundwave's mobile emitter erasing him from existence.

"That was a little morbid." Harry remarked.

"We have a lot of work to do in order to get this ship back in order." The Captain spoke up. "Where is Ensign Desrochers?" She asked; Tuvok didn't know so he couldn't respond, Ratbat however squeaked something.

"I think he's trying to tell us something." Chakotay remarked finally snapping out of his stupor; the battle had happened all so quickly that he hadn't really had time to process everything, and then there was also the fact that Janeway had requested he not interfere while Ensign Desrochers had command.

"A shame we don't speak rodent." Tom quipped turning from his console since the engines were still offline; Ratbat shot the helmsman an indignant look and seemed to change his demeanor.

"I said; fleshling, that our creator is most likely already enroute to main engineering to assist in bringing this marvel of fuel conservation back under control." He stated in a strange accented tone of voice that struck Tom by complete surprise.

"You can talk English?" He blurted.

"Of course; unlike some of my brethren I was equipped with dual vocal modulators to simulate both my animated and comic incarnations." Ratbat retorted in a snobbish kind of tone. "In other words; for those who are to feeble minded to comprehend." He continued glaring pointedly at Tom. "I can speak English." He finished slowly as though speaking to a child.

"Yeah; with a real attitude." Tom muttered under his breath.

"Since my presence would be better suited elsewhere I shall take my leave of you." Ratbat stated as though speaking to subordinates; and with that he picked up the destroyed emitter, which had housed Soundwave's program and maneuvered onto the turbo lift.

"Why'd he destroy that other one anyway?" Harry asked.

"We'll figure that out later, let's get to work people time is of the essence." Janeway insisted climbing from her seat and making her way over to Tuvoks' station so that the two could see about re-routing emergency power to the propulsion systems.

* * *

Amy knew her father was highly upset at the deaths of the five crewmen; she didn't want to say anything to further upset him so she remained respectfully silent as the Captain spoke of how good men and women had fallen in an attempt to save this ship. She didn't fully understand it all; or at least pretended not to, being a Technorganic Borg as her father was she understood more then she let on, like what alone time truly meant for her father and aunt Serenity. But she wasn't about to bring anything like that up; in fact she wished she could forget it for right now, remember it when she was older and better equipped to truly understand why adults did that sort of thing, not just the logical version of it all.  
Her father moved forward and approached the torpedoes that had been prepared especially for this moment; on each of the five he attached one of his now broken emitters, Starscreams', Skywarps', Soundwaves', Megatrons' and then he ran out of emitters so for the fifth one he merely placed a tiny emblem fashioned to give honor to his other fallen Decepticons. Despite his feelings towards them; he had always intended his creations to be nothing more then tools, unfortunately he had developed attachments to them… It was why they were so hard to get rid of; it was also why he'd kept the Cassetticons intact, merely dormant.

"I know this really has no bearing on these proceedings, but may I just say this… You shouldn't have died; the Borg should never have come, but my presence changed all of that and for that, as well as for the families you leave behind on Earth and in the Alpha Quadrant I am deeply sorry." He stated. "But I firmly believe you did what you felt was the right thing; and so I will try to feel less guilty about your loss, the crew will miss you all. Lieutenant Walter Baxter, Crewman Kenneth Dalby, Ensign Hickman, Crewman Angelo Tassori formerly of the Starship Equinox and you Lieutenant Kashimuro Nozowa… May your souls find peace in the great beyond and hopefully you shall be reunited with your loved ones when the time comes." He continued pausing briefly to place a hand upon each torpedo in a reverent manner.  
"Life is a never ending journey; and death is not the end, merely the final path for the corporeal beings we are as they journey into that which is incorporeal and truly the greatest unknown." He finished with a sad smile; Amy bowed her head as the rest of the crew did and listened to the bagpipers play as each of the torpedoes was loaded into the launch bays and subsequently fired off into space.

"All right people." Chakotay stated moving to stand beside his Captain. "Let's get home; for their sakes and for everyone else who we've lost during this harrowing trip through the Delta Quadrant." He stated with firm resolve in his tone; Amy sighed sadly as her father returned and slowly followed him out of the room, his emotional state was well known to her thanks to their telepathic link and she wished desperately that she could take away his pain and guilt and make him happy again. But she knew that he needed this time to express his sorrow; after all if his emotions were buried away and never expressed he would truly become that, which he feared and hated above all… An unthinking, unfeeling machine.

* * *

Katherine Janeways' Personal Log: Death is never something to be treated lightly; ever since we were dragged into the Delta Quadrant kicking and screaming all the way it has been a constant companion, one that sometimes takes the innocent before their time as evidenced by the losses of my crew. Our recent skirmish with the Borg is no exception; we lost five good souls during the conflict due to the Borg boarding Voyager, fortunately none of my crew was even attempted to be assimilated, according to Ensign Desrochers one of the plans for dealing with boarders was to use Soundwave's unique ability to jam their link with the hive mind. Don't ask me how he managed to duplicate ESP with a sentient holographic robot; I haven't the faintest idea where to even try to begin describing that one.

Our job however is no stranger to loss of life; when exploring the unknown death is a threat we face every waking moment of our lives, but as Captain it hits harder, because there's always that nagging doubt of whether or not you could have done something to prevent it. I had the great fortune of discussing this particular crisis of faith with Jean-Luc once; he had some interesting thoughts on the matter, after all he'd recently lost a crewmember to a strange entity. He said; and I quote 'As I was once told by Ambassador Spock, the lives of the many often outweigh the lives of the few, but in my personal opinion no one life is ever worth less then any other in this wide galaxy. The Vulcan's may have a sense of logic about them, but they sometimes forget the small picture in favor of the larger one; Spock was a little different though, his years with Kirk seemed to have made him a better Vulcan. Because he went on to tell me that more often then not it is the one life, seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, that can help stem the tide; conquer over all logical facts or figures with sheer will and perhaps even discover something great as Admiral McCoy often did in his tenure as ships' doctor.'  
These words were small comfort to me then; after all I was only just beginning my Starfleet career at the time, fresh from the academy and eager to explore, but now I can see their appeal. They offer better comfort, but still; no one life is ever easy to see fade then another, it will never be easy. However I feel that it is my duty to put on a brave face for my crew; fortunately there should be no further problems with the Borg from here on out, I am most confident that we sent the Queen a very powerful message and it was all thanks to Ensign Desrochers. I only hope that my feelings on the matter prove correct; yet I feel that the Borg will never truly be defeated; they're just too damn stubborn and tenacious for their own good.

To Be Continued; **And there you have it; the War Against the Collective is over, but not the story. For the rest of this tale you shall get to meet Amy's surviving relatives, witness further interactions between Father and Daughter and in the end bare witness to the greatest established feat of Star Trek History, the return of Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant, through the eyes of our hero I might add... All that in the next batch of exciting chapters of War Against the Collective!**


	8. Chapter 8 Welcome to Eternia

**Author's Notes:** I update yet again with more thrilling moments of Amy; she was just so adorable she wound up stealing the show so to speak, but hey I'm sure you'll love every moment with her... At least I hope so. And so without further ado I give you chapter eight...

* * *

Amy sighed as she kicked her feet in her seat; her Daddy was on the away mission, she could sense his annoyance at being there, but that was mostly because of his future knowledge. Their future knowledge now; she was bored being stuck in their quarters, and she didn't feel like playing with any of the Transformers right now. She was a little anxious; the Hirogen were not to be taken lightly, or at least that's what her father was currently telling someone else, she couldn't remember if it was Mister Paris or Ensign Bristow however.

"_Daddy can I go visit Naomi_?" She suddenly asked telepathically; her father chuckled lightly mentally sending her a loving caress even as he observed Tuvok rendering the lone survivor unconscious.

"_Yes little one; in fact I would strongly urge it_." He returned; Amy nodded and hopped out of her chair, she headed for the door only to be stopped by Ravage who still remained active some days to watch over her when everyone else was too busy.

"It's ok, I spoke with Daddy." She informed innocently; the holographic Decepticon approximated a sigh, he hated this telepathic link because sometimes it contradicted his masters' orders. However he allowed the child to pass following after her silently, invisibly; as she quickly made her way to the turbo lift, hopefully Naomi wasn't too busy with classes or something.

* * *

"We shouldn't be here." Amy muttered as she followed Naomi past the mess hall; her father was asleep in their quarters now after the Hirogen showed up he decided to regenerate, just in case. Naomi smiled briefly and dashed out of range of the doors so that they wouldn't respond to her presence.

"Relax Amy; I just want to see one." She called back slipping through the personal entrance to Neelix's kitchen; Amy sighed and followed; she didn't need or want to see a Hirogen. Naomi peeked behind the counter and saw several crewmen and Mister Paris helping the Hirogen; Amy grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back.

"You've seen them; lets' go." She requested in a hushed whisper; Naomi sighed, but nodded and the two girls quickly left.

* * *

"I don't like this." Amy complained softly a little later as the ship began to shake for some reason she didn't know; Naomi clutched her hand and offered an encouraging smile.

"It's ok; we've been through a lot, the ship will survive." She reassured; Amy sighed slightly and nodded, despite what Naomi said she still didn't like this, and with her father still out cold she no longer knew what to expect of the future. Both she and Naomi let out a scream as a particularly nasty jolt shook the ship; and suddenly all the lights went out, Naomi whimpered a little.

"I don't like the dark." She admitted; it was Amy's turn to offer reassurance.

"It's ok; I can see in the dark." She stated smiling slightly; Naomi laughed lightly, the two had really hit it off these past few months doing everything together when Naomi wasn't busy with schoolwork.

"When this is over I want to play with something safe." Naomi remarked with a smile; Amy giggled and led the girl to a safer spot in Ensign Wildmans' room, since standing near the bulkhead wasn't a bright idea if there was a breach.

"Deal." The little Catarian returned with a grin; the two girls laughed openly, Amy felt a small surge of annoyance from her father as he was rudely woken up, and brushed it aside, sometimes his thoughts upon waking up could really be confusing.

* * *

"What?" Al asked looking around dumbly; the flash had gotten him out of his deep slumber, he'd been lost in a dream concerning Deathsaurus and Omnibus, but he couldn't remember anything about it anymore.

"Q?" He asked confusedly propping himself up in bed.

"Not exactly." A strange voice remarked; Al eyed the newcomer curiously, they weren't as tall as the Q he knew, or to be more precise the Q he recognized from the series. In fact this person was about four feet and three inches; defiantly a much younger Q, or so it would appear.

"Not his son?" Al wondered confusedly; the Q shook his head and glanced around nervously, what Al didn't know was that he wasn't supposed to be here.

"I just wanted to give you a quick warning; the events of Shattered are close at hand, instead of holding off any further I strongly suggest you take Amy to Eternia and get the little family reunion over with." The Q stated quickly; before Al could ask any questions the Q vanished in a flash leaving a very confused Omniversal traveler behind, Al sighed rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.

"I hate time travel." He grumbled figuring out that this Q had somehow come from the future; probably a future that went bad for him, and they couldn't afford that so they were forced to send someone into the past to try and fix the mistake, who he was though Al couldn't say… Closing his eyes he began to fall asleep once again and resumed regeneration. "He does have a point though; I'll ask the Captain if Tom can take us to Eternia on the Delta Flyer." He mumbled sleepily before losing consciousness again.

* * *

M-Class planet Eternia; Amy's home, and it looked breathtaking, for it was a world lush in vegetation and from space looked almost like a green jewel. Tom brought the Delta Flyer on approach per the instructions given to him earlier; Amy was growing anxious and her anxiety was filling me with a deep nervousness, it consumed me to the core and made it difficult to concentrate. Being so overwhelmed I chose to hum to myself internally hoping to ease the young Catarian in my charge; though she may appear to be roughly eight years old or so her true biological age was merely that of an infant and she was easily lost in fears of monsters and the like. Amy curled up in my lap as we drew closer to the planet; she smiled as her emotions began to calm thanks in part to my humming, I was actually humming the Star Trek theme from Next Generation, or more specifically the one's used in many of the films. It simply felt appropriate; Tom of course was too busy following the instructions, there was a lot of traffic around the planet for it prided itself on exporting it's natural foods, as evidenced by the amount of fruits and meats Neelix stocked. The Delta Flyer assumed standard orbit within minutes; I smiled as I caught sight of the planet's sun beginning to rise up, or more accurately come into view via our ships rotation of the planet, the effect was quite stunning in person and it was a sight I rarely enjoyed aboard Voyager.

"Delta Flyer this is Eternian Planetary Control; you have permission to disembark your passengers." A female voice informed; in point of fact everyone the Captain or Tom had been in contact with since discovering where Amy originated from was a woman, which begged the question where were the men?

"Understood; co-ordinates received, thank you Eternian Planetary Control." Tom returned with a slight smile; flicking off the communications channel he turned to the both of us. "Beds first or you?" He asked.

"Beds." I replied; attempting to prolong this moment for as long as reasonably possible.

"I hope they have some easy way of getting those things to the house." Tom remarked with a shake of his head as he activated the transporters. "From what I scanned earlier it doesn't look like they offer much room down there, those forests and jungles take up a fair percentage of the planets surface." He noted; I shrugged and moved over to the transporter platform in the rear, Amy stood beside me clutching my hand.

"I'm ready daddy." She stated bravely.

"Well in that case; engage." I requested adopting Picard's tone briefly; Tom smirked as he activated the transporters and we shimmered out of existence for the briefest of instants as we were beamed in an energy form from the ship to the planet's surface.

* * *

We materialized on the outskirts of a village amongst a clump of bushes and trees so vividly green my eyes might have been blinded if not equipped with recalibration circuits. I'd never seen a green this bright before; and I don't mean neon, I'm talking naturally bright; this planet did share some similarities with the fictional Eternia after all. Glancing around for our hosts I was surprised to find that there wasn't even another child in sight; it was awfully quiet, at least the beds got here safe and someone had moved them onto some kind of archaic transport. It stood about five feet off the ground; resting on large wooden wheels, however those appeared to be mere decoration for some kind of anti-gravity system seemed to be in operation.

"Greetings Al-Aine." A male voice stated appearing from behind the drivers compartment, which was wider then the transport proper and had kept him hidden from view. He was wearing a robe of rich royal blue that covered him; yet allowed the biceps to be seen, his hair was a course brown, scraggily looking and disheveled as if he'd done all the lifting himself. His eyes were a dull grey nothing as exotic as Amy's and he was lacking the twin spiral horns that the child possessed; his tail was more of a red in color, though so dark it looked almost black, he seemed startled by the appearance of Amy.

"Please call me Al." I requested hating the way he'd garbled my name and almost made it sound like Elaine.

"You shall ride in the back with my father; Amy may ride with me." A strong female voice stated; an obvious order not a request, Amy however pouted at that.

"My daddy stays with me." She exclaimed bravely; determined to keep me as close as possible, the unseen woman sighed in reluctance.

"Very well youngling; he may ride up front, but that is highly unorthodox." She returned; Amy pouted a glare passing over her eyes, she didn't care. Leading her to the front of the vehicle I was surprised to find that it was an open air transport through and through; there wasn't even a window to keep bugs from getting in your face or hair. The driver was a six foot woman with emerald eyes; aquamarine hair much like Amy's and a longer tail, she wore a form fitting leather armor with matching skirt, which drew the eyes to the bosom and left little else to the imagination. A sword of all things was strapped at her side; and her horns were only slightly larger then Amy's' own.  
"Get up here and do not look at me male." The unknown member of Amy's family ordered; I sighed, but did as she instructed, Amy hopped into my lap and I felt the weight shift as the male managed to climb into the back next to the beds. The ride was one of silence; contemplation, it was obvious that this was a matriarchal society; ruled by the female of the species; though the man in back was the father of the woman driver it was clear who was truly in charge. Fortunately I had some small experience with dominant women; after all I had spent a brief time among the Amazons' of ancient Greece.  
As we traveled from the village deeper into the forest my gaze was drawn to the plant life all around; the trees were quite tall and high above I could clearly make out Wookie-like constructs that served as houses, male and female members of the species glanced down upon us with open curiosity, more so the females though. The home we were traveling to was farther away then most; and as we drew closer I could make out the roof from here, it was not situated in the trees meaning it must have been one of the older and grander domiciles, Amy's family was obviously high up in the world.  
The building had been crafted using a mixture of wood and metal there was no cement or other material of any kind; save of course bits of hemp in certain areas, The metal ended where the wood began and blended seamlessly with it, it was obvious that the house had been crafted around the trees so as not to damage the precious ecosystem. It was a domed structure; highly curvaceous, there were no jagged edges or sharp points of any kind. Even the steps leading up to the entranceway were smooth edged, the entranceway itself being an arch carved in the likeness of vines, leaves and branches. Part of the foyer could be seen; for there was no door, it appeared vast with spiraling stairways and glow lamps that worked without the principal of electricity; at least from what I could determine with a slight systems scan, the light source came from a bioluminescent lichen of some kind. To my utter amazement the trees which had been used to construct the house actually still lived; their roots were not uplifted, the carving that was done to hollow them out had been carefully orchestrated so as not to destroy the thick layer of bark that protected the trees from harm, the Catarian race truly was one with nature in all forms.

"Ah the man who saved the life of Chelerise, welcome to our abode." An aged and cracking voice greeted from the top of the stairs leading into the house; I glanced up only to be slapped from behind by the unnamed woman and forcibly made to look upon the ground.

"No man save those of our family may look upon the Matriarch until she has either given permission or until he is dead." She hissed close to my ear; her nearness filled my olfactory senses with an exotic scent, I was hard pressed to keep my hormonal urges down.

"Forgive Cyrene; my grand niece is highly protective of me in my old age, and alas she is also suffering from her usual right of mating, she is in heat." The elder woman apologized. "It tends to make us more volatile." She added; I sighed and yet dared not return my gaze to where it had been moments before.

"A fact of life dear woman; although we humans have another term for it." I remarked; Cyrene appeared to have been cowed by her Matriarch, judging by the change of scents… This was an aspect of Amy's life I was going to have to get used to or risk alienating her once she was older.

"You may satisfy your curiosity young man." The matriarch permitted; I slowly, cautiously raised my eyes back to the woman that was Amy's grandmother, she wore an elegant robe of silver material and walked without the aid of a cane. Despite the implications of her words and tone of voice concerning her age; her own aquamarine hair was streaked with pure white shocks more akin to Rogue of the X-Men rather then a humans graying colors. Her tail stood out thanks to its' length; it was at least twelve feet long, double the size of the woman's height, the tail clutched something, which might have been their version of a photograph. Unlike Cyrene this woman had her claws extended; a feature I had suspected considering the lack of any sort of fingernail or nail equivalent on Amy's fingers or toes, though she was probably too young and they would only become available in time. Her's were long; and offered a dexterous appearance, which surpassed even my own. Her face and hands also possessed a light covering of fur in certain spots; an indication of her advanced years no doubt, bowing respectfully I paid homage to the woman as Xena had taught me.  
"That was not necessary." She returned as the unnamed male appeared lugging Amy's bed.

"I have long been trained in the art of a warrior dear woman and in the presence of any Matriarch it is customary to show respect and honor. Most especially when one has made a breach in protocol." I revealed bringing amused smiles to both Cyrene and the woman who had not yet introduced herself.

"You honor me greatly warrior." She stated moving down to stand before me as I rose; she circled me examining every angle. Her horns were of similar size to Cyrene's leaving me to deduce that unlike the tail they did not grow much bigger then the size Amy currently possessed.

"A most impressive specimen; and quite curious, you certainly have the build of a warrior." She observed disturbing me with the way she suddenly licked her lips; mostly because of her teeth rather then any physical desires which she might have chosen to express after such a scrutiny. "Are all humans so… smooth?" She wondered causing a very uncomfortable sensation to run down my spine.

"No; Daddy is a bit smoother then most." Amy piped up growing past her nervous fear and smiling up at the woman. "And he's saved my life twice now." She added proudly; I was beginning to suspect my translator was substituting some word for another because it couldn't figure out what the Catarian meant in her native tongue, what surprised me however was how quickly Amy seemed to have slipped into it.

"Surely this can not be Chelerise." The elder Matriarch remarked in surprise. "She was but no older then a solar cycle when she was lost to us." She added eyeing me pointedly.

"I'm afraid… Well you see her ageing process was sort of hyper accelerated for a time when I initially took it upon myself to save her life." I began to explain rubbing the back of my neck out of nervous habit; both women shared a startled look.

"How is that possible?" Cyrene hissed her eyes narrowing and once again she was far too close to me for my own liking; I lowered my head now in shame, we had decided to wait to inform them as to the nature of a Technorganic Borg… Perhaps a mistake in light of their sudden change in demeanor; before I could even attempt to voice further explanation twin presences entered my mind forcibly, their powers were stronger then Amy's and my mind screamed in pain as I reeled. I could faintly hear Amy crying out in fear for me; unbidden images flashed through my mind, a sea of thoughts and memories, my first kiss with Serenity, the first time I laid eyes upon Amy when she was but an infant, memories of Alumni I'd thought long buried and forgotten, the comforting presence of my God and even the strange visitor who had claimed to be a Q, but hadn't gone into any great details as to his past. Strangely enough music also could be heard as some part of my sub-conscious was inadvertently touched upon; as I collapsed to my knees I could clearly hear the Imperial March and envisioned Star Destroyers flanking Darth Vader's personal Destroyer. Unknowingly it was Amy who came to my rescue of sorts; her own bond with me somehow proved stronger and she forced her grandmother and cousin from my mind, she raced up to me as I collapsed still hearing the music for no apparent reason.  
My last sight before total collapse into unconsciousness was the look on Amy's grandmother's face; she was clearly surprised and confused by what Amy had done.

"Why did you do that?" The child demanded whirling upon the older women.

"Welernya?" The strange man asked a hint of concern for his much older sister in his voice; the matriarch shook her head.

"It is nothing; forgive us child, but it was the swiftest way to determine the truth." She informed glancing down strangely upon her granddaughter, her own son had conceived this precious angel and yet here she was vastly different from the child she'd been thanks to this man. But in truth without him Chelerise, no Amy, would not even exist anymore.

"Matriarch; she is an abomination." Cyrene cursed moving far back from her little cousin.

"You dare!" Her father spoke up; Cyrene appeared cowed at this, for although she was an adult and now held sway over her father in the time honored tradition of their species, she still feared him when he took on such a mood.

"Abomination?" Amy repeated. "Matriarch… Grandmother, do you think I'm one?" She asked fearfully tears beginning to form; Welernya shook her head a tender smile spreading across her lips.

"No child; in point of fact you are blessed, for you will carry on this family's name and honor long after even Cyrene's children's children have joined the dust of the Earth." She returned bending down to offer the child a very loving hug; the first show of genuine emotion any of the Catarian's had expressed towards the child.

"Come Jyar-El; assist the young man into the house, as for you Cyrene; you shall carry in his bed as punishment for your outburst." Welernya commanded shooting a glare upon her grand niece, Cyrene bowed her head showing no signs of hatred or anger; instead she was clearly upset with herself. Together the family of young Amy moved into the house; Amy was beginning to feel more at ease, but her concern for her father prevented her from speaking further with her family, she just hoped they didn't force her to stay here.

To Be Continued; **Well there you have it, we'll see more of Amy's family and Eternian customs in the next exciting chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9 RoahkToa & Heartache

**Author's Notes:** Reviews are like chocolate; once you take a bit you can't stop eating until it's all gone, so kindly review if you're reading this story, let me know what you think about the characters, are they believable enough? Do they make you feel for them as good characters often do? That sort of thing.

**Pronunciation of Eternian Terminologies:**  
Sraikah Ss-ray-ka  
Roahk-Toah R O C K-Toa (IE Lego's Bionicle)  
Couriach Curi-Ash

Well that's all from me; happy reading folks, and do review I'd apreciate long reviews too if you can muster it I'd like some fine details to be pointed out or something, you know constructive criticsm.

* * *

I rejoined the land of the conscious in a strange room, I was lying on a large circular bed with a moss covering; it felt extremely soft, even more so then Amy's regeneration bed. Amy was actually beside me and at first I thought she was asleep; when I saw her eyes looking up at me happily and felt her quick tiny hug I smiled despite the headache.

"I'm sorry that hurt you Daddy." She whispered sitting up as Welernya entered, _how did I know that name?_ "_My uncle spoke it earlier; I just felt you should know so I gave it to you Daddy._"

"Leave us child." She stated gently, Amy pouted; wrapped her tail about my waist and stubbornly refused to leave my side.

"Please daughter; I have a feeling this is important." I requested; Amy looked up at me frightened, but my smile of reassurance did the job and reluctantly she left her presence fading from my mind only slightly.

"Only the women of your species are telepathic." I stated logically. "Hence why you, your grand niece and Amy possess the horns, yet Amy's uncle does not." I gathered.

"Yes." Welernya returned with an uncertain expression upon her face. "It is extremely rare for us to establish bonds to such a degree as Chelerise… Forgive me, Amy; has done with you." She revealed a brief expression of disgust passing over her.

"In most cases where a female establishes a bond with a male, the male becomes hopelessly insane, devotes every waking moment upon the whims of his mistress and dies if the bond is ever forcibly removed or taken away." She added granting me an understanding of why she had looked disgusted when thinking about it. "You however are a most unique specimen of male; even for your own species, and Amy is not attempting to enslave a mate as the women of my species sometimes did in the past, such actions are frowned upon these days." She stated a smile spreading across her lips at the look of discomfort, which graced my visage upon her noting my unique status.

"Don't I know it." I found myself muttering a small sigh escaping my lips.

"We know everything now; and Cyrene has educated her father." Welernya remarked. "You do realize that you may not be able to take the child with you when your own mistress takes you from this reality." She pointed out quite seriously.

"That will never stop me from trying." I countered climbing to my feet a little shaky for a moment before I managed to regain my equilibrium. "Provided her family does not wish her to remain here." I added looking up in nervous apprehension.

"You are linked to the child in your own special way." She remarked slyly. "You care for her perhaps greater then you should; we know this too, you have long wanted children, to share your life experiences with…" She paused as she moved from the doorway and paced over to a window I hadn't noticed earlier. "It is not uncommon among many races when either sex reaches a certain age." She added.

"I…" I tried to deny her words of wisdom, but they spoke to me; in truth it wasn't unpleasant to hear someone else admitting my own secret selfish desires where Amy was concerned.

"Our race is no longer as vast as it once was, in recent years there has been a shortage of male births." Welernya suddenly revealed; she turned briefly to me her cat-like eyes shining with slight tears. "In the days of my own Matriarch the woman would choose six males to mate with; and even before she knew she had been impregnated or not she would slay them all after successfully mating with them for the first time." She revealed startling me with the loss in her tone and not to mention the fact itself. "This has thankfully changed in recent years; starting with my own mothers' reign, but it has not changed soon enough and I fear eventually our race may die out due to its once barbaric practices… Unless of course we begin to mate outside our species, but for Amy; she will be allowed to live long after her own people may be gone and we are a long lived race." She finished glancing over at me with a sudden certainty in her eyes; I looked at her in complete confusion uncertain where this was going.

"What exactly are you saying?" I asked.

"Chelerise was my Granddaughter, she died along with her mother and father when they were taken by the Borg; and yet through a miracle she has managed to be reborn in the form of Amy." Welernya began crossing the room slowly until she was standing before me. "And it would honor me greatly to accept the man she has chosen to be her father into my home and my family." She stated; I grinned ear to ear as the elder woman embraced me, her tongue lapped my neck without warning and before I could question her she bit it causing blood to flow, swiftly she lapped at the precious fluid causing an involuntary shudder to run down my spine.  
"It is the Roahk-Toah." She explained hastily. "When someone outside the family wishes to join we perform this ceremony, now you must drink of my blood to symbolize the accordance." She informed biting her wrist and holding the dripping wound out to me, I hesitated briefly and then moved in to lick up her own blood before the tiny wound could heal; the taste was less metallic and more sweet then I was used to. "It is done; welcome to my household Sraikah."

"What does that mean?" I wondered licking any and all traces of her blood from my lips; feeling that it would dishonor her to wipe it on my sleeve as I was inclined to, _Carnivores._

"I believe in your language it would loosely translate into Son not of my flesh, nor of my womb." She replied with a sudden slight tilt to her head; the mannerism, so like Amy caught my by surprise and produced an involuntary smile.

"Well." I began glancing at my watch briefly to note the time and my current power levels. "Since I am to stay here for the next five days perhaps it would be best if I was shown the lay of the land, so to speak; I understand the predators of this world are quite… Problematic." I remarked; Welernya smiled briefly and offered a nod.

"I shall have Jyar-El show you around." She offered halting briefly before choosing to offer another hug; then the both of us left the room, this was certainly going to take some getting used to.

* * *

Several hours later I was covered in sweat; surrounded by trees and other alien foliage on all sides, and seriously missing my Olympian blade right about now. The Eternian Shral-Beast had attacked us from seemingly nowhere; and now it was in hot pursuit, letting out a roar of impatience it continued to stalk us, Amy squeaked in fear as we tried to keep pace with Jyar-El… A name I kept associating with Jor-El, but as I'd come to learn; much like Krypton many of the males possessed names with the suffix El. Without warning a second and third beast appeared before us; bringing us up short as we almost collided with them in the brief clearing not far from the house we'd been trying to return to. These creatures may taste good, but they were ugly as sin; a cross between a Terran canine, lupine and those demon dogs from Ghostbusters they stood roughly eight feet long on four sharp taloned paws, with five toes each.  
They were roughly akin to the Velociraptor in size compared to us; lacking the intelligence those creatures displayed in the hunt, for it was obvious by the way these two snapped at one another that they had followed the cries of the third chasing us in an attempt to steal us from him… Her? Their heads were big; with four horns spiraling out from the center of the top, and their eyes all seemed to be a dark purple in color, beady little things too, but they could see clear enough. Their bodies were completely hairless, looking perhaps more akin to reptiles then dogs, though they were quite lean; still three against one was no fair. Jyar-El took up the fight; seeing as how we could not escape any further, he leapt at the nearest striking it down swiftly with the long spear he held; its' companion let out a scream of rage and charged him so swiftly that he was sent flying through the air and vanished amongst the underbrush.

"Daddy." Amy pleaded looking to me as the hunters drew closer to us.

"Ok, now let's see how you like things the way we do'em downtown." I exclaimed trying to lighten the severity of the situation with slight brevity of wit; a burst of electricity screamed from my fingertips colliding with the closest beast. Just my luck they happened to have either tough hides, or were walking lightning conductors because the energy did nothing and faded away before even coming in contact with them. "Slag suckin' saurians, where's Ravage when you really need him?" I grumbled knowing full well I'd left the Decepticons deactive back on the ship; and yet I had forgotten one important fact concerning my Olympian blade, it came when you called.  
"Uh… Here swordy, swordy, sword." I whispered closing my eyes and concentrating really hard; though I felt like a complete idiot chanting like that, the familiar sensation of its' metallic hilt became clear in the palm of my hand and with a triumphant shout of glee I held it aloft. "I Have the Power!" I exclaimed jokingly before charging the second of our stalkers; the tempered steel, or whatever it was cleaved straight through the middle of the leaping beast and both halves fell to either side of me; of course its' entrails wound up all over me. "Oh, yuck; no wonder Buffy hate's demons." I grumbled wiping the disgusting slime of intestine off my face.

"Daddy, look out!" Amy warned; too little, too late, sharp fangs bit into me and a burning agony spread through my leg, with a low growl I jammed the hilt of the blade hard into the beasts head. It collapsed to the ground jaws going slack as it's' brain died from the force of the blow, then again since the Olympian blade tended to lend a little strength to the wielder I wasn't too surprised.

"I need a shower; no strike that, I think I'd rather have my entire outer layer of skin burned off completely to get rid of this." I complained relaxing now as the seriousness of the moment left the clearing; Amy glanced over to where Jyar-El had fallen.

"Uncle are you ok?" She asked; I glanced up and moved to check on the other man, when I managed to find him his spine obviously looked to have been severed, no doubt from colliding with the very thick hard tree trunk he was lying in front of.

"Oh no." I gasped, but before I could do or say anything else I completely collapsed; Amy cried out rushing over to her fallen father, but she couldn't get him to move or wake him. He'd fallen into stasis lock despite a lack of serious injury; of course what she didn't know was that Eternian Shral-Beasts had an extremely potent paralyzing venom in their blood, and the open wound caused by the third beast had allowed the innards of the second to mix inside Al's body.

"I've got to get you out of here before the scent of these dead things brings more." Amy muttered to herself; and then she remembered that everyone here seemed to be telepathic. "_Cousin, Matriarch; please help us, the Shral-Beasts attacked and now Daddy's unconscious, please you gotta hurry._"

"_Fear not young one we shall arrive swiftly._" Welernya returned; and with that Amy huddled down next to her father to await a rescue, briefly she touched the cooling face of her uncle and a deep pang of regret overwhelmed her. She hadn't known him very long, but she felt he would be sorely missed; and she knew her older cousin would be devastated at the loss of her father.

* * *

Cyrene's yowls of grief were what finally cut through my paralysis; bounding to my feet I glanced around swiftly seeking an enemy that was already dead, Welernya gently placed a hand upon my shoulder.

"How long?" I asked briefly eyeing Cyrene in sympathetic understanding.

"Fifteen minutes, you heal quite quickly Sraikah." She returned; I nodded and eyed the sword in my hand briefly, a pity the sheath did not posses the same mystical properties as the blade, ah well I'd just have to carry it out.

"Is she going to be ok Daddy?" Amy wondered frowning; I sighed, losing a loved one wasn't something you got over in a few minutes.

"I don't know little one." I replied. "But we should honor Jyar-El with a proper funeral, after all he died as a warrior should; protecting those close to him." I added; Welernya nodded her tears silently streaking down her cheeks.

"My younger brother is the last male in our family…" She trailed off; I knew it was not my place to comfort her, she was the Matriarch and touching her without her permission was most likely frowned upon. Cyrene said nothing her face contorted with grief as she carried her father back towards the house; Welernya, Amy and I followed a solemn procession for a man we had only just met and never got the chance to truly know.

* * *

The pyre roared into the sky as Cyrene sang a song of mourning in her native tongue; Al bowed his head in respect for the departed and Amy mimicked him tears silently trickling down her cheeks as the words of the song touched her soul. Welernya stood a little ways away stoic and resolute; she would not grieve in front of the family, but in the privacy of her own bed chambers when the time came. The song ended and a silence filled the clearing; a terrible silence, taking a step forward Al opened his mouth and began to sing a song of his own, one he had learned from Xena for she had taught him the words and now he could do the song justice. Cyrene and Welernya looked at him in surprise; they accepted his show of grieving with slight nods of respect and listened as the alien words rang out around the trees seemingly sung by both Al and another. Once Al had finished his song he took Amy's hand and gently led her back to the house; Cyrene deserved to mourn her father alone, and Al knew this.

"Thank you for that." Cyrene called out as they left; Al glanced back with a soft smile.

"I shall teach it to you if you like." He stated; Cyrene nodded and her remaining family left her to grieve in private, Welernya wished to leave as well she needed to mourn, but could show no weakness for her grief.

* * *

I awoke much later in sudden alertness and leapt to my feet sword in hand; Amy still slept in her own bed, yet something had awakened me and I feared one of the smaller predators had crept into the open manse in search of easy prey. Twin eyes stared at me from the doorway hidden in shadow they shone with a strange light; at first I thought it was Welernya, but then my optics managed to pick out Cyrene amongst the shadows.

"What do you want?" I asked in a low whisper tightening my grip. "Are there more Shral-Beasts?" I wondered steeling myself for another battle.

Cyrene slipped into the room in a stalking manner and I received quite a shock, she was wearing a very flimsy nightgown that left nothing to the imagination; I averted my eyes at once and turned my back to her as she continued to advance. Halting only when she reached the middle of the room; according to my proximity sensors at any rate, I felt a presence enter my mind very weakly so as not to cause feedback as she had the last time.

"_You are a great warrior and a fine specimen of a male._" She complimented with a sultry purr.

"And the point to such a comment would be?" I wondered speaking aloud; I had a pretty good idea what was running through her distraught mind however, considering I had some skill at plucking things from Amy's mind when we were linked and Cyrene was no different.

"_Our species must intermingle with others if we are to ensure our continued survival._" She replied drawing closer to me, I moved with her ensuring the same distance remained between us. "_You are perfect to mate with, your physical stature, your stamina even your basic genetic structure is similar to our own. I would be honored to bare you a son or daughter._" She stated purring softly in my mind; I had to suppress the urge to shudder with delight, after all I was already with Serenity even if we rarely spent much time together socially.

"Cyrene; you have just lost your father, you are the last in your family most likely who can bare children at this time." I remarked steeling myself and finally turning to look at her; I kept my gaze firmly locked with her eyes lest I be tempted. "It is understandable that you seek out the first strong male you could to ensure the continuation of the family, but you are still hurting and now is not the time to be seeking a mate." I sighed and glanced briefly to Amy to make certain she still slept.

"I have never sought to mate with another yet, you would be my first, you would have the great honor of taking my unity and still you would deny me?" She demanded shifting slightly and looking as though she intended to pounce.

"Cyrene you and I both know this is wrong." I stated placing my sword aside at last as the opportunity presented itself. "I have mated with another, she would not approve." I added turning slightly to eye Amy one more time because I could have sworn I'd heard something from that corner, without warning Cyrene pounced; before I knew it her body was pressed up against mine and her arms were wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

"I must produce child soon or risk losing the chance to do so at all." She pleaded looking directly into my eyes; I was caught up in those perfect orbs of shining light, the feline nature drawing me in as though a moth to the flame.

"Man what is it with me and strong willed women?" I muttered to the heavens; Cyrene lost her nerve then and she broke down in front of me, large wet tears slid down her cheeks and fell upon my bare chest. Modesty however had never been a problem since I changed; the nanoprobes and my logical side telling me that it did not matter who saw me for I was absolute perfection and deserved to be seen… _I gotta do something about that train of thought._

"Forgive me Couriach." Cyrene whispered in a hoarse tone; the term taking me slightly by surprise. "My grief has clouded my senses; normally I would seek out Welernya or father, but he is no longer there for me and Welernya must grieve in her own fashion." She explained; a deep feeling of pity bombarded me and I offered a tight embrace lending my strength and support in this time of great need.

"I…" I began trailing off as I grappled to find the words I knew she probably didn't wish to hear.

"A strong part of our nature is our affectionate nature; my species is ruled by their emotions due to our ancestry." She spoke up interrupting any platitudes I might have offered. "Would it be too much to ask that I be allowed to spend this evening with you Couriach, I promise this is not a continuance of my misguided attempts to continue the family line." She added; I looked at her uncertainly, my human side was screaming that this could be construed as dark territory, but the side of me that had grown to accept Amy's Catarian tendencies offered Cyrene a smile of complete understanding.

"Seeking comfort in the arms of family is not unheard of." I returned with a soft chuckle. "We humans don't tend to sleep together right after a funeral; at least not the cousins, but I can see with Amy in my life and as long as I am on Eternia it's just something else I'm going to have to get used to." I added; Cyrene bowed her head in shame, but I offered a quick hug.

"Thank you Couriach." She whispered before sliding down onto my regeneration bed; she grimaced as she lay upon it and eyed me with something I couldn't quite place. "How can you humans stand to sleep on these hard beds?" She wondered; I chuckled at that.

"You should see how the Klingons sleep." I remarked yawning slightly as I lay down beside the adult Catarian; it was strange, and yet not unpleasant… Not in an intimate way though; more like we were children, a brother and sister perhaps, one of us having suffered a nightmare we sought comfort in the arms of our closest companion aside from our parents.

"What will we tell Amy in the morning?" She wondered suddenly worried; I shook my head and closed my eyes slowly growing rigid as though I was in an alcove, some Borg traits were hard to fight.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." I replied. "As we humans are known to say, I'm just glad Serenity isn't here; I think she'd get the wrong impression and try to kill you." I added closing my eyes; Cyrene shifted beside me attempting to seek comfort without touching me too much, her body was arranged in an awkward pose and to be honest it was highly disconcerting.  
"Please, just sleep naturally; as if I was your father." I requested. "You are strongly upsetting my own sleeping habits." I elaborated; though I could not see it Cyrene blushed, and then I felt her tail wind its way around my waist as Amy's did and her arms sought out my chest… She cuddled next to me her breathing growing regular as she fell slowly to sleep, I let out a contented sigh; sub-consciously I think I was eagerly accepting of this because I actually missed Serenity, why she chose to remain aboard was a mystery to me and I'd gotten a little too used to having a second person beside me at night.

* * *

Breakfast the next morning consisted of a rich blood soaked broth made of Shral-Beast tail; apparently the paralyzing venom was boiled away during the cooking process, and Ternial wings, the closest species that could match it on Earth would be the Bat. Welernya did not seem to object to the fact that the three of us arrived together; although when she saw us for that first moment her guard was lowered briefly and I could see how haggard she truly looked, Jyar-El's loss was indeed felt by all in this family. I was reluctant to eat at first, but when Amy passed on her share I dished out a healthy portion and dug in; Welernya's eyes widened as, after I began to eat Amy followed suit and lapped at her own meal. I shrugged at the expression and resumed eating; trying hard not to gag as my taste buds screamed.

"Child why do you insist on eating what your father eats?" Cyrene asked easily picking up on the root cause of the problem.

"Because I want to make my Daddy happy and proud." Amy replied innocently; I smiled behind my plate at that and a stray tear of happiness formed at the corner of my eye.

"Amy; your father is an Omnivore, do you know what that means?" Welernya asked with deep understanding and patience.

"A creature that can eat both meat and produce, I think." She replied her brow all scrunched up in thought.

"And you are a Carnivore." Cyrene pointed out; Amy furrowed her brow once more and sat like that for several minutes until much to our astonishment she began to cry, the two older women looked on in complete confusion as Amy turned to me with almost a hint of anger in her expression.

"Oh Daddy." She exclaimed exasperated. "Why didn't you just tell me? Why risk being unhealthy like that?" She asked against the sobs; I looked at her in anguish, a part of me never wanting to see her cry, but knowing it to be inevitable. I searched for the right words and found much to my astonishment, that her question spoke volumes to me, with a heavy sigh I set my plate aside.

"I saw no harm in you mimicking me; and I guess a part of me liked it, after all you are only a year old and I… Well that's no excuse, Amy; sometimes even we adults fail to see the simplest solution even when it's right in front of us." I replied; she shot me a glare of disapproval, but soon shook her tiny head and released a sigh.

"Daddy I may be a year old, but thanks to you I'm smart enough to know what it means if an Omnivore eats only meat." She stated; a sigh of audible relief escaped me and I laughed.

"Therein lies the fault of my brilliance, our brilliance; sometimes it can become too complex even for us." I returned.

"That's no excuse." Amy snapped playfully. "From now on we'll eat what's good for us, ok Daddy?" She asked cocking her head to one side.

"In which case I could desperately go for a nice big salad with a very large glass of water to get rid of this…" I trailed off with a shudder. "I do so despise enhanced taste buds." I elaborated glancing at the bemused expressions on Welernya's and Cyrene's faces.

"I shall see what can be done." Cyrene informed rising from her seat and heading for the kitchen; inadvertently drawing my eyes to her backside as she walked, Serenity and I hadn't explored that aspect of our relationship since the Decepticons were first formally activated and my primal male urges were a little harder to ignore sometimes.

"Daddy." Amy scolded slapping my wrist with her tail; no mean feat considering how high my wrist was currently.

"What?" I asked in mock bewilderment knowing she couldn't have missed my lingering gaze.

"I saw the way you were looking at our cousin." She replied with a frown; I sighed frustrated at myself for allowing me to slip. Closing my eyes I began to contemplate quantum mechanics, Welernya was eyeing me with a tiny smirk.

"_It is sometimes not uncommon for cousins to mate on our world; the shortage of available males tends to lead to such things._ She remarked in my mind.

"_No matter what cultures we humans learn about and accept, there is no way on Cybertron I am going to go down that route thank you very much; it's far too… Well it alternates my currents, if you take my meaning._" I returned; Welernya said no more, merely continued to smirk as she resumed eating.

* * *

After Breakfast I watched as Cyrene began to teach Amy on developing her agility helping her to be the Catarian she was, something I couldn't realistically do even though I was extremely agile for a human. I felt a swelling of great pride as she began to excel at leaping from branch to branch and even if she missed Cyrene would catch her and get her right back in the swing of things. I was so enthralled with the progress she was making I failed to notice when Welernya joined me.

"Her birth cycle is two days from now." She whispered succeeding in making me jump out of my skin, so to speak.

"So she will be two then." I remarked with a smile.

"Biologically speaking." She agreed with a decidedly out of place chuckle. "A most remarkable child, I shall miss her… And you." She added with a deep sigh; I looked up at the elder Matriarch and saw a deep sadness in her eyes for the briefest of instants, a great swell of pity filled me now and I startled her by taking her hand in mine, protocol be damned.

"If we could stay here." I began; she smiled at my words and shook her head.

"You have your own destiny, your own home and she belongs at your side." She stated. "Besides I still have Cyrene; and once her grief is lessened then who knows what may become." She added with a tired smile.

"I…" I trailed off unsure what to say, she seemed to sense my desires however.

"I understand Sraikah you don't have to say any more." She stated squeezing my still clutching hand gratefully, I felt a relief and returned to watching my daughter perfect her own abilities a big smile on her lips.

"So Couriach, young Amy tells me you're an accomplished warrior." Cyrene suddenly called from above and to my left. "Care to grace us with your presence?" She wondered bemusedly.

"If you insist." I began flipping up with an added burst of gravity powers so I could reach the nearest branch. "Catch me if you can cousin." I called over my shoulder before running the length and breadth of the branch and leaping to the next.

"What an interesting challenge." Cyrene remarked turning to Amy. "Care to help me little cousin; your father is teasing me after all and enticing me." She added in a conspiratorial whisper.

"I'll help, but I don't know if I can keep up." Amy admitted.

"No worries little cousin; we shall not let you fall." She returned; Amy smiled and with a loud giggle she dashed after me, but this chase was not to be so easy even for my daughter after all I hadn't done anything like this since I first started testing my powers and a good run could help to keep my mind off other things, such as Serenity and more importantly Cyrene.

* * *

Serenity sighed as she sat in the mess hall aboard Voyager; once again she debated the choice to remain behind on this ship without her lover present, the two rarely shared much time together since Amy came into his life… After that first night of all encompassing passion she'd only ever seen him in bed two other times and her urges were definitely not being satisfied. But she had known all along that she was not meant for him; his romantic softer side could not come out to play because he just wasn't feeling that way about her. She knew that he did not consider her his first love, merely his first conquest; as some men might call a woman who they spent time with purely for the sex.  
She also knew that he did not want this; his emotions were warring daily upon this relationship even if only in the back of his mind, he had thought he was ready to commit himself, but he was beginning to seem as though he'd made a hasty decision. Still she truly didn't mind; she was a Goddess after all and the feelings of one mortal man were not something that she needed to tell her how beautiful or sexy she was… Still after the many eons it would be nice to meet someone like that; someone who wanted her for more then just her body.

"Problems?" A voice suddenly asked startling her from her reverie; her friend Jenny sat down opposite her a data pad in one hand.

"Is it that obvious?" Serenity wondered with a slight smile; Jenny nodded and leaned closer to the woman she had befriended. "He's not giving me what I really thought I wanted." She admitted with a soft sigh speaking low so as not to be overheard in the crowded room.

"Yeah well; I kind of had a feeling you two wouldn't work out right." Jenny returned; Serenity eyed her with a curious smile. "Not that I wanted you to lose him or anything." She hastily added. "I don't really feel like that about him, but I could just tell there was something off about the two of you since day one."

"It's true; there are but two soul mates intended for Alain, one of them awaits him on his home Earth. Another one he will meet on his next stop over; we were always meant to be a lustful, heated passion filled moment…" Serenity stated pausing as a wistful smile spread across her lips. "I believe you would liken it to two ships passing each other in the night." She added.

"Yeah; still at least you have him for now, that should be worth something?" Jenny wondered; Serenity laughed her laughter tinkling as chimes and she leaned in to whisper conspiratorially.

"The sex is good; despite his novice attitude his God and the nanoprobes certainly gifted him when it comes to…" She trailed off with a knowing wink and Jenny blushed; despite herself she had to admit there was always that lingering bit of curiosity concerning what he looked like, down there. "And his stamina is greater then any mortal I have ever made love to; he rivals Omnibus, and at least he knows the concept of foreplay." She added with a slight frown remembering her brief love life with the Demon Overlord; it too had been lacking, though she wouldn't have admitted to it when in his presence.

"I suppose that's something Technorganic Borgs have over on ordinary humans." Jenny remarked casually before a second blush crept across her cheeks and she averted her gaze mortified at her sudden interest in her best friend.

"I could arrange for the two of you to…" Serenity began with a knowing smile; Jenny shook her head vehemently and slammed the data pad down on the table perhaps a tad too forcefully.

"Don't finish that sentence; we're friends, that's all and I don't want to jeopardize that for anything." She insisted. "Besides you already told me his soul mates aren't in this reality… How can a man have two soul mates anyway?" She wondered curious now for an all together different reason.

"Ah; that is simple, though his soul was only ever meant for one; his God has allowed a certain leniency, the woman he is destined to first fall in love with will truly be his soul mate as well, but for an entirely different reason then his true soul mate." She explained.

"So what you're getting at is his heart is meant for someone back home, but there is a place in it for this other woman?" Jenny asked; Serenity nodded.

"You see like him, she will be a lost soul in essence; and he shall provide her the one thing she has always secretly desired." She revealed with a knowing smile; Jenny shook her head.

"It must be hard; having all that knowledge." She remarked; Serenity nodded a slight frown marring her beauty.

"Gods and Goddesses have learned to live with it; just because they, we tend to keep our true emotions from mortal eyes doesn't mean that we don't feel them as you mortals do… After all the one who created the human race as a whole had to know what emotions were in order to grant them upon his or her children depending on what Earth you're from." She pointed out with a tiny smirk; Jenny shook her head once more and decided to change subjects.

"So; aside from Al, how're things?" She asked; Serenity glanced at her friend thoughtfully her left hand briefly touching her stomach as though contemplating revealing a closely guarded secret, in the end however she decided against it and instead the conversation turned to duty shifts and the like.

* * *

Nighttime on Eternia saw me once again contemplating my current relationship with Serenity, but not for long; our exploits amongst the trees had tired me out greatly and so I fell asleep rather quickly. Much later in the evening however I was awoken by a strange sensation; at first I thought it merely a half-remembered dream, but then I could feel the eyes upon me. Glancing around I thought that perhaps Cyrene was once again seeking the comfort of a strong male to help with her emotional state, but that was not the case; instead I found a most unwanted visitor.

"Q; do you have any idea what time it is?" I demanded grumpily; the omnipotent one merely shrugged a smirk playing across his lips.

"Just thought I'd pop in to remind you; Omnibus is still out there." He remarked.

"Thank you oh master of the obvious, but I am well aware of the threat awaiting us in the Alpha Quadrant." I retorted turning over to fall back asleep.

"Oh; and one other thing, whoever it was that tipped you off… Well if he does show up again you will attempt to detain him until I can have a word with him will you not?" Q asked; I sighed, in truth I'd forgotten all about that strange being who might or might not have been a Q.

"Whatever; now let me sleep." I growled; Q nodded and flashed off, closing my eyes I promptly fell back asleep.

"This is so cool." The human remarked as he once again reappeared; Omnibus sighed inwardly, perhaps recruiting this pathetic creature in an attempt to muck around with his quarry's destiny wasn't such a wise decision after all.

* * *

The Demon Overlord had called this former human from across the Omniversal boundaries themselves; plucking him from a time in his life when he believed he would become the ultimate villain, what he had laughingly termed a super villain. Such a thing was indeed quite amusing to the Demon Overlord; it was why he had called this human in the first place, but so far he'd been far too caught up in traveling through the timeline and observing events from the past. Most notably surrounding a man called Kirk; he'd also taken to peeping in on women and though Omnibus couldn't be sure, he had a strong feeling that this little slime had forcibly taken several women and then erased their memories of said event.

"I did not grant you limitless powers to waste time." Omnibus growled glaring at the offensive little worm. "If you can not stick to your mission I will return you where I found you and strip you of your powers, you can face the witch then." He reminded; the young man trembled slightly as he was reminded of what might have been his fate, but he did not do as he was told.

"I can't." He finally admitted lowering his head with a sigh. "You gave me a lot of powers; that's true, but with Q keeping such a close eye on him I can't get near long enough. He almost found me out when I tested my abilities earlier." He revealed; Omnibus shot him a glare, through him he had come to know more about the fool that had freed him, not enough that he would attempt to kill the being known as Q, after all he had still released him from his long imprisonment… However he was certain that once this powerful force was dealt with Q would learn what it meant to trick Demon Overlords' into doing their bidding.

"Then you are of no further use to me." Omnibus declared rising from the dead throne he had fashioned on his current home. "However; I will not strip you of all your powers, merely a few." He added as dark tendrils emerged from his fingertips and pierced the man in five distinct places; he cried out in pain as something was taken away from him, and then he fell to his knees panting for breath as the tendrils were removed.  
"Go; leave this universe, find a place where you can become the…" Omnibus paused with a sneer. "Super villain you wished to become, but remember what I have given you I can just as easily take away; so kindly refrain from getting in my way once I move on to begin my conquest." He commanded; the little man nodded a dark smile playing across his lips, he was free, free to play within the Omniverse itself.

"Oh God; Wonder Woman was always so hot, I think I'll pay her a visit first and then try my luck with Supergirl." He remarked; Omnibus rolled his eyes in disgust as the little man popped off, still this one insignificant pawn might prove useful in the far future and Omnibus was never one to abandon potential tools before they served their usefulness.

To Be Continued**; Man you know when Al fights Omnibus it's going to be one of the great epic confrontations; well I hope it comes off as that, for now however it's quality time with Amy and Al's going to have even more fun sharing his world with his daughter as Voyager's journey through the Delta Quadrant continues... In the next chapter the visit on Eternia must regretably end and the two newest members of the Welernya family will be back aboard Voyager where excitment and Serenity wait abound.  
Be here next time; and be sure to review this chapter to let me know how you're liking the story so far...**


	10. Chapter 10 Familial Bonds

**Author's Notes:** Another update; we're gonna be wrapping up pretty soon, I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter and I realize it's perhaps a tad early for another update, but I'm in a writing mood and so here you go... To all those who are obviously reading this and not commenting on the chapters via the handy dandy review function included at I say... Why won't you review? Honestly I wanna know what you think of my OC Characters, if you like'em or hate'em let me know, but please don't get all flamey on me constructive criticsm is accepted, but flamers will simply be ignored.  
Anyway; On with the show, and another songfest from Al, some of you may wonder why I have the hero sing... To that I say, why not? Besides sometimes I feel like bursting into song myself; musicals are fun you know.

* * *

Days tend to pass quickly; even on Eternia and before long Amy and I found ourselves on the last day of our visit waiting for Tom to stop by with the Delta Flyer to pick us up, Amy seemed a little upset about the leaving and I could tell Cyrene and Matriarch were sorely disappointed, I think they got used to having me around.  
Amy was sitting on my lap as I sat on the front stoop, or what I decided to call the front stoop at any rate; she had her tail wrapped around my waist and was humming to herself trying not to show how torn up she was. Our link however told a different story; she was afraid, upset and extremely sad about leaving the only other family she knew.

"Amy told us you sometimes enjoyed to sing." Cyrene suddenly remarked as she slowly sat down beside us. "I would be most interested in hearing one of your native songs." She added.

"As would I." Welernya spoke up joining us; I glanced up at the elder Catarian and closed my eyes briefly in thought.

"I'm afraid there aren't that many songs you would be interested in; my knowledge of music is more within the realm of what was produced for the entertainment media and not something like a warrior's journey or akin to that." I remarked after careful consideration.

"But Daddy; you have such a wonderful voice, please can you share it with us?" Amy pleaded turning and shooting me a hopeful look; I shook my head.

"Sorry little one, but Daddy's really not in the mood." I returned.

"Perhaps we should not press your father into doing something he does not wish to." Welernya suggested with a knowing smile, which I couldn't see because I was too busy listening for signs of predators.

"Daddy." Amy began attracting my attention; looking down I found she'd adopted a pleading expression and pouted a little. "Can you please sing me a song before we go?" She asked; I shook my head and her lip began to tremble, her eyes slightly started to water.

"Little one we don't always get our way." I began feeling my resolve start to melt away. "But just this once I'll share something of my culture with your family, ok?" I asked; she giggled happily and I moved in nuzzling my nose against hers so suddenly she was taken by surprise.

"Daddy." She protested with a giggle.

"All parents embarrass their children somehow." Cyrene remarked a wide smile on her lips.

"He didn't embarrass me." Amy countered with another giggle. "That just tickled." She explained nuzzling up against my chest.

"Which song will you grace us with?" Welernya wondered moving over to a place I'd missed upon first arriving here; it was a little alcove type area set near the front of the house and it had been crafted so that the Matriarch could sit when she grew tired of standing.

"Well; as I said I don't know many songs that could prove appropriate, but there is perhaps one song that at least has some ties to a warrior, a hero actually." I began smiling slightly. "A young man troubled and trying to find his place in the world." I continued cuddling Amy a little as I began to rock slightly; she smiled and turned her head slightly to be in a better position to listen to me.

"I have often dreamed; of a far-off place, where a great warm welcome will be waiting for me." Amy's father began to sing and she closed her eyes letting his voice soothe her nervous tensions and fears. "Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face; and a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be." Her Grandmother and cousin were respectively silent listening to the words; and trying to envision a melody to go with them.  
"I will find my way; I can go the distance, I'll be there some day, somehow I'll be strong. I know every mile, will be worth my while; I would go most anywhere to find, where I… Belong." Here Amy's father paused as though realizing that something was missing; a crucial element concerning this particular song, without the visuals of the film and the dialogue used to inter-cut the rest of the lyrics from what he'd just sang there was actually no way to end this song.  
"Slag." He grumbled completely losing the mood; Amy sighed and patted his arm briefly shooting him a smile.

"It's ok Daddy; at least you tried." She complimented; Cyrene and Welernya nodded and Al shook his head.

"A promise is a promise." He began. "I'll just pick a different song." He proclaimed.  
"One minute I'm in Central Park; then I'm down on Delancey Street, from the Bow'ry to Saint Marks; there's a syncopated beat." He suddenly burst into song startling the three Catarians and he began to gyrate to some beat. "Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo; I'm streetwise, I can improvise. Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo; I'm street smart, I got New York City heart." He continued closing his eyes and losing himself to the tune. "Why should I worry? Why should I care? I may not have a dime, but I got street savoir faire. Why should I worry? Why should I care? It's just bebopulation; and I got street savoir faire. The rhythm of the city; but once you get it down, I say, then you can own this town; you can wear the crown!" He exclaimed his voice ringing out amongst the trees startling a few exotic looking birds.  
"Why should I worry? Tell me, why should I care? I may not have a dime, oh but I got street savoir faire. Yeah; why should I worry? Why should I care? It's just duopulation, and I got street savoir faire." He paused now adjusting his vocal modulators. "Ev'rything goes; ev'rything fits." He began using a woman's voice. "They love me at the Chelsea; they adore me at the Ritz. Why should I worry? Why should I care? And even when I cross that line; I got street savoir faire… Yeah; Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo… Ah whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo… Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo." Cutting himself off because he was obviously losing himself in the end of the song he opened his eyes again a small blush creeping across his cheeks. "Ah; there you have it, one of the songs sung on Earth; er… Back in my century; occasionally." He stated.

"It was a most enjoyable song; a pity we could not hear the music that accompanies it." Welernya returned smiling softly.

"Oh; thank you Daddy." Amy squealed nuzzling him and wrapping her arms around him tightly in a big hug. "Your voice makes me feel safe." She added in a soft whisper.

"Your ride has returned." Cyrene stated with a suddenness that shot through both father and daughter like a knife; Amy shed a few tears.

"Already." She exclaimed pulling back from her father with a jolt. "But there's so much more to learn." She added looking at her grandmother in remorse.

"Hey little cousin; you'll still be with your dad, and we can talk via sub-space communications if you want." Cyrene returned with a sisterly smile as she ruffled Amy's hair.

"Provided we aren't preoccupied with an alien attack." Al added with a chuckle.

"Oh daddy." Amy sighed batting him playfully with her tail, he rose and turned eyeing the area thoughtfully.

"I'll just go get our beds." He stated; knowing full well that wasn't necessary, but wanting to give Cyrene and Welernya a chance to offer Amy a private farewell, Amy rushed up to Welernya so suddenly it took the elder woman by surprise.

"I'll miss you both so much." She proclaimed hugging Welernya tightly and then moving on to Cyrene before taking a step back and brushing a stray lock of her hair from her face.

"Be good for your father." Welernya requested with a fond smile.

"But not too good; he needs to be on his toes." Cyrene added with a wink; Amy giggled and shot her cousin a sly look.

"As I'm sure you planned it that way when you came to him a few nights ago intent on mating with him." She remarked with a far too innocent smile; she came off as a much older and wiser person in that moment before shaking her head. "Oh; I'm sorry, it's hard to keep Daddy's thoughts from taking over sometimes. I wish I could stay and get more training for my telepathic powers." She admitted with a tiny sigh.

"You can always disconnect your link you know." Matriarch pointed out; Amy shook her head vicariously.

"No!" She exclaimed the passion in her tone ringing clearly. "I don't want to feel…" She trailed off tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "What were my real Mommy and Daddy like?" She asked with a suddenness; curiosity plaguing her expression.

"Your mother was as gorgeous as the Trellisane blossoms and a strong warrior; she would be so proud seeing you as you are now." Welernya began softly bending down to hug her granddaughter. "And your father was my precious son; a proud and noble warrior in his own right who successfully courted your mother in the time it takes our planet to circle its' sun, but a single time." She added offering a few memories and images of both her parents telepathically.

"And when they had you it was the happiest moment in their lives; they sacrificed everything for you during the Borg attack of their transport, if it hadn't been for the fact that we desperately needed certain supplies…" Welernya trailed off tears of regret flowing down her cheeks; she smiled as she held Amy and the little Catarian wept as well sharing in her grandmothers' grief.

"At least they loved me." She remarked through her sobs.

"Of course child and they always will, just as we will." The Matriarch returned softly. "Now go and be happy with your father." She added in a whisper; Amy smiled through the tears and held on to Welernya tighter for a few last seconds.

"I will." She whispered back. "And thank you."

* * *

Amy raced over to me as I settled the beds down not far from the house; Welernya had given us a few garments left over from Amy's mother and her fathers' favorite book, a gift for the child that had lost so much before coming into my life. Glancing around to make certain nothing was missing I turned briefly back to eye the last surviving relatives of my new extended family and offered a formal bow and an informal wave of farewell before tapping my com badge. 

"Beam me up Scotty." I stated adopting Kirk's voice.

"What?" Tom blurted in confusion.

"Sorry; I couldn't help myself." I apologized trying hard not to laugh while Amy burst into a fit of giggles remembering the lesson on Kirk I'd shared with the others all those months ago. We both dematerialized amidst a fit of laughter forever vanishing from the surface of Eternia; I had a feeling however this wouldn't be the last time we got to see her family, at least not her cousin Cyrene.

* * *

Personal Log: Stardate 54452.6; What a day I've been having, I felt like someone was tearing me apart this morning and it took me all of five seconds to realize that Amy was the cause, her feelings of great sorrow and pain seemed to be all I could sense through our link. I've tried to cheer her up, but it hasn't been very effective; I'm stuck in engineering for another two hours though, but as soon as I'm finished I'm going to schedule a holodeck session. Perhaps I'll be able to help her; who can say, all I know is that it saddens me to know she's so upset… I guess leaving Eternia and her true family behind has been more painful then she wished to let on.

* * *

Amy looked away from her father as he did up the last button on his shirt, her emotions were a raging ocean and she could tell her father was having a hard time not breaking down in front of her. He offered a smile her way she tried to smile back; she really did, but her heart just wasn't in it. 

"Do you want to practice with your tendrils?" He wondered, she didn't say a thing; just remained sitting on her little bed and sighed deeply. "You have to open up to me." He began coming over and kneeling down so as to place an arm lovingly around her shoulder. "Please daughter; I want to help." He pleaded; she looked up into those eyes, her own reflecting a pain she knew he could not understand, for she failed to understand it herself. He reached down with his other hand in an attempt to embrace her; she shied away however leaping from the bed.

"Let's forget it Daddy." She requested in a whisper and that seemed to make him angry.

"No!" He snapped startling her. "I bottled up my emotions as a child more often then not and I know more then anybody that, that's just not a good idea." He exclaimed his heart aching with remembered memories of a painful childhood. "The pain never goes away, it just builds and builds until you can't take it anymore and you break down or explode for no reason." He revealed his body starting to tremble with a rage or perhaps fear; even he did not know what it was.

"Fine you want to know why I hurt so much, Daddy." Amy growled shocking her father and herself with the sudden vehemence in her tone. "I hate you! I hate the Borg for taking my parents away, I hate you for saving my life so I can never see them again, I hate them for letting them take me, I hate you because we can't stay on Eternia and most especially I hate me for feeling like this!" She exclaimed loudly her voice cracking with such passionate emotion that her father was clearly taken aback; as far as he could tell this hadn't been there earlier, not even during the visit to Eternia… And Amy had to admit that these sudden feelings of hatred seemed to have appeared without warning or just cause, but perhaps it was the child within simply experiencing a temper tantrum.  
"Daddy; I'm so confused." She wailed turning to face her father again having been unable to face him as she admitted her hatred for him, her face was flecked with tears, her father was strangely enough smiling with a deep sense of understanding.

"I was wondering when this might happen." He admitted stunning her; he let out a tiny chuckle and shook his head. "Oh Amy; it's only natural to feel these things, especially now after meeting your grandmother and learning about your parents, you don't really hate… That's merely a means of masking your true emotions; I suspect instead you're feeling miserable because you're just now realizing that you've lost so much at such a young age." He continued although Amy could tell it was a guess; she sighed and broke down crying deep sobs that wracked her tiny frame, her father swept her up into a tight embrace a few of his own tears brushing the tip of her head as she cuddled tightly against him.  
"There, there… That's right let it out." He whispered knowing that sometimes you just had to have a good cry; Amy squeezed her hands tight clutching the fabric of his shirt, her tail curled tightly around his waist and she sent him telepathic waves of remorse and apologies unable to verbalize them.

"Daddy; I love you so much, but why? Why did the Borg have to take my real parents away from me?" She finally managed to ask; Al sighed and shook his head.

"Little one I can't answer that; all I know is I'm grateful for you, having you in my life… Before you came into my life I was beginning to feel as ancient as the stars, I was lost without a true purpose." He revealed openly crying now. "But every time I feel your laughter, your joy, your wonder and yes even your sorrow or fear I feel like myself again; I remember that life is precious and I never want to lose you or distance myself from you." He added; Amy let out a tiny wail.

"Oh Daddy; you're so sweet." She exclaimed smiling now; happy at the emotions she was feeling because of what he said, how he said it, the affection deeply rooted in his tone made her realize that she wouldn't wish her life to go back to before the Borg for anything else in the world. The sound of the chime startled the both of them, her father straightened up wiping the tears away; sometimes he still exhibited a sense of pride and wouldn't allow anyone to know he'd been crying.

"Come." He called in a hoarse voice.

"Ensign." Sam began as she entered only to trail off as she saw them; Al could tell she wasn't fooled. "Perhaps I should come back later." She muttered turning to leave.

"No; it's ok Sam, Amy just needed to get something off her chest." He called halting her departure. "What can I do for you?" He asked with a friendly smile.

"I need someone to watch Naomi for me, I've got another double duty shift tonight, Neelix is busy and unfortunately so's Seven." She explained venturing fully into the room, Al smiled as Amy let out a squeal of delight; she needed a friend to play with.

"No problem." He stated with a light hearted chuckle. "I'm certain Amy will appreciate having someone closer to her own age to play with besides this old codger." He added in jest; Amy shot him a tiny glare, but broke out into a miraculous laugh.

"Thank you Ensign… Al." Sam returned reaching out uncertainly towards the only other parent currently aboard. "We haven't been able to spend as much time together like we used to of late." She added with a tiny frown; Al chuckled and shook his head.

"Raising Amy can be quite the time consuming task at times." He remarked; Sam nodded and beckoned for Naomi to come in, the young blond Wildman entered a couple of data pads tucked under one arm and a tiny overnight bag in her other hand.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay here Ensign." She stated eliciting a smile from the young man.

"You are most welcome Naomi Wildman." He returned mimicking Seven's manner of speech; Naomi grinned openly at this as she crossed the room and placed her belongings next to the desk.

"Be good Naomi, and remember to finish your homework." Sam called before quickly taking her leave; Al turned to both children with a small smile.

"Well now, what shall we do today?" He wondered.

"Tendrils!" Amy cried looking much happier now that she'd relieved herself of her burden.

"Transformers!" Naomi shouted simultaneously.

"Tendrils." Amy exclaimed again shooting Naomi a look.

"I don't even have those, I want to play Transformers." Naomi shot back, Amy stuck her tongue out and Naomi returned the expression in kind; Al sighed and moved to sit down in front of the desk.

"What are you doing Daddy?" Amy asked noticing his lack of interest.

"Since you girls can't agree I might as well get caught up in my work." He replied pulling up a schematic of Deep Space Nine.

"But Daddy; you said I could learn to use my tendrils." Amy complained giving her father a pouting look, Naomi kept silent eyeing the shelf loaded with his replicated Autobots and Decepticons. Suddenly Al launched one of his tendrils and pulled Skywarp down for her, for some reason she'd really developed a strong interest in the purple and black Decepticon.

"Then compromise." He suggested with a smirk. "Play with Naomi and practice at the same time." He elaborated; Amy cocked her head in thought and beamed as she turned to the shelf, she shot out her own tendrils and grasped Sideswipe. Pulling him down with a bit of difficulty, she glowed with pride at her accomplishment; Naomi giggled as she dashed across the room Skywarp in hand and set up a few makeshift constructs using her data pads.

"The lone warrior Skywarp is guarding the Energon storage warehouse on Earth for the glorious Megatron." She called out making Skywarp walk back and forth like a sentry.

"But Sideswipe the Autobots best scout has orders to take command of the warehouse." Amy added racing along the floor with Sideswipe's vehicle mode as if it were a highway. Al smiled at the two children's antics and resumed his studies tuning them out so as not to intrude.

* * *

Sometime later I snapped out of my studies after sensing a strange sensation on my wrist; looking down I found Kickback in his grasshopper mode resting there, obviously one of the girls had put him there for some reason. 

"Amy; why is Kickback on my wrist?" I called out moving the Insecticon to the desk. "Amy?" I called again glancing around the room; panic set in as I saw an empty room with Autobots and Decepticons strewn about, I leapt to my feet and began to head for the door. "Computer, locate Naomi Wildman and Amy Chelerise Desrochers." I requested.

"They are in the mess hall." The familiar feminine voice informed; I sighed in audible relief even as my stomach grumbled alerting me to the fact that some considerable time had passed.

* * *

"I see my two young warriors took it upon themselves to get dinner without inviting me." I remarked a few minutes later as I joined Amy and Naomi at their table with a tray laden with food. 

"You looked so busy we didn't want to disturb you." Naomi muttered nervously.

"And just why was Kickback hanging out on my wrist?" I asked casually before digging into my replicated black forest ham, lettuce and cheese sandwich.

"Oh, he had orders to extract Energon from the solar plant; and you were kinda the only thing we could think of to use." Amy replied with a sheepish grin.

"No wonder I'm so hungry then; he must have drained me dry." I remarked with a chuckle; Amy and Naomi giggled at my silliness, which brought a smile to my lips.

"Well Amy I wasn't really watching you, how was your practicing?" I wondered in response Amy flung her tendrils lose and wrapped them around both of Naomi's wrists.

"I think I've mastered grasping objects." She elaborated switching targets and picking up her empty tray.

"Yes, very good." I complimented eliciting a gush of pride from Amy. "It was relatively simple to learn how to use them as fingers, images and the like however took longer." I added.

"So what do we do now?" Naomi asked. "I'm kind of all Transformered out." She added.

"We could play hide and seek with Icheb if he's not busy." Amy suggested. "After all since the other children left I think he's gotten a little lonely." She added.

"I'm not sure the Captain would approve of us running all over the ship." Naomi stated with a little sigh.

"We could try out Daddy's hover board." Amy offered; I glanced at her in sudden distress.

"It's too high-tech to have any fun with; I want to do something different, besides only one person can ride at a time." Naomi complained causing me to raise an eyebrow in bemusement.

"Then you come up with something." Amy exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Holodeck." Naomi stated crossing her arms smugly.

"But you just said you didn't want to play with anything high-tech." Amy countered, Naomi shook her head.

"You don't play with a holodeck, you play on a holodeck." Naomi stated. "And besides I don't think your Daddy ever showed you Destiny Islands, I kind of want to see them again." She added.

"Destiny Islands?" Amy repeated uncertainly. "What's that Daddy?" She asked turning to me with questioning eyes; I smiled fondly and decided to just show her instead of wasting time explaining it.

"Come on; let me show you." I said climbing to my feet; having already finished my meal, before I could take off however Serenity suddenly joined us.

"Mind if I tag along; we haven't seen much of each other of late." She remarked; I smiled and pulled her into a half-embrace steering her towards the exit, both girls closely following after us.

"I thought you'd never ask." I remarked eliciting a blush from her.

* * *

When we reached the Holodeck Amy and Naomi rushed ahead eager to start up the program; fortunately Serenity had seemingly planned ahead and scheduled us some holodeck time, Amy was floating up to input the program and start it up, but before she could I reached up and grabbed her unthinkingly by the tail. 

"Hold it; you start the program up like that and we'll be back at the club." I stated as Amy gently returned to the ground; she was taking to her gravity powers quite well actually. I began to isolate the parameters we wanted to explore; Amy shot me an upset look and I adopted an apologetic expression. "Sorry little one; I wasn't thinking." I stated softly.

"Does that mean you have to create a whole new program?" Naomi asked with a little frown.

"No, I just have to isolate and specify which elements we want." I replied smiling as I began to work; Serenity watched me as I deftly finished punching in the commands that I needed to create the right program. Her gaze was locked on me so long I began to feel slightly nervous; finally I couldn't stand it any more. "Was there something you wished to say Serenity?" I asked inputting the final code.

"Nothing particular." She replied brushing her hand through my hair. "You're quite the good father though." She added with a strange little smile on her lips, I regarded her in confusion as the doors opened and Naomi rushed inside leading Amy by the hand. We followed out onto the warm beach as the tropical surf rolled gently up against the sand; Amy squealed in delight and kicked off her shoes running barefoot across the sand. Naomi smiled as she calmly sat down to remove her footwear and I sighed contentedly breathing in the warm fragrant air; Serenity took a seat on the pier and closed her eyes letting the warmth of the simulated sun bath down upon her.

"I miss this." She admitted in a strange sounding tone. "The sun, the surface of a planet; everything we tend to take for granted being immortal and all that." She added.

"Are you ok?" I asked suddenly worried about her mindset; it was strange, my feelings for her had dwindled somewhat after making love to her, but I still felt a little something… I wasn't ready to let her go just yet; and not because the sex was great, but because I liked having her beside me in the morning.

"Just fine." She replied sounding strangely content; I would have pressed the matter if not for the sudden shriek of Amy, I snapped around to find her being dragged out to sea by a strong undertow. Stripping off my shirt as I ran I realized I had no swimwear on, but that didn't matter; leaping free of my loosened shoes I tore off my socks and dove off the edge of the pier. Too late I recalled my fear of sticking my head under water, but I couldn't dwell on that now; Amy needed me. Kicking out my feet I began to swim desperately heading for Amy; after about two minutes of hard will driven swimming I reached her and pulled her free of the under tow.

"Oh Daddy." She gasped clinging to me and trying to get out of the water.

"No, no calm yourself." I instructed; she looked at me confusedly. "I should have taught you how to swim before you started wading." I admitted; Amy clearly feared the water now and I didn't want her to develop the same phobia as I had. To calm her further I used my powers to demonstrate how we could control the water; bend it to our wills so to speak. "You see; the water possesses trace elements of minerals, we can manipulate these minerals; force the water to do our bidding through concentration. There's nothing to fear." I added moving us closer to the shallows; Naomi swam over and joined us.

"See Amy; there's nothing to be scared of." She insisted.

"Your mother is going to kill me when she finds out you went swimming in your clothes." I muttered realizing it was pretty silly to teach Amy how to swim in our own clothes.

"Wow." Amy intoned as she treaded water mimicking Naomi's movements. "You're right Daddy, there's nothing to fear." She added moving closer back to land.

"Good, good; now why don't we practice swimming, but get out of the water in the process." I began moving over to the beach and standing up in the water's edge. "Now, swim to Daddy sweetie." I called smiling encouragingly; Amy acquired a determined expression and began to kick swimming towards me. She kept coming her mind and body swiftly adapting and easily grasping the fundamentals as she read my mind and Naomi's own movements as she returned to shore. Within moments we were all back on the beach and laying exhaustedly on the sand letting the sun dry us off.

"That was a little fun." Amy admitted nuzzling my cheek in her usual show of affection; I sighed and thought how annoying it was to swim with thick pants on. Serenity hopped off the pier and came over carrying my shirt, shoes and socks.

"Any excuse to take your shirt off." She teased plopping beside me gracefully and resting her head upon my chest, I stared up at her in surprise; she'd never really expressed this level of affection before outside of our love making. For some reason I also had the sudden memory of another science fiction film; one that was decidedly more comedic then sci-fi action and drama, I chuckled mentally as I recalled that particular film and found myself wondering if it too existed somewhere in the Omniverse.

"Maybe we should leave you two alone." Naomi suggested sitting up and fixing her hair slightly a knowing smile plastered across her lips.

"No." I exclaimed startling myself. "Er, I mean it might be better to stick together because Amy's never been here." I quickly recovered.

"Don't be silly Daddy." Amy chastised slowly closing our telepathic bond. "You and Aunt Serenity want some alone time, besides I want to explore." She added hopping quickly to her feet and motioning Naomi to follow; before they vanished Amy shot me one last happy smile and then disappeared to the other side of the island.

"Well… how have things been?" I asked shifting nervously onto my side; Serenity's strange behavior was so disconcerting that loathe though I was to admit it I was beginning to feel like a virgin again.

"Quite well." She replied slipping effortlessly out of her dress, I nearly choked and quickly looked around to make sure no one, holographic or real was nearby.

"Serenity; are you out of your mind?" I blurted. "There are two very impressionable young girls with us." I added backing away from the obviously horny Goddess, Serenity smiled knowingly and pounced changing into her true form for the first time since that night so long ago.

"I know; that's what makes it so exciting, besides you've never made love to my true form before." She pointed out running her hands across my chest. "They won't see a thing; I promise." She added.

"No." I began; her hands slowly unbuckling my pants. "I said no." I repeated batting her hands away from my belt, she would not be deterred however and she flew me up high into the trees where an old tree house rested. "Hey!" I exclaimed a sudden wave of dizziness striking me; despite my abilities I was still madly afraid of heights, Serenity smiled as she managed to get my belt off at last and threw my pants back down to the ground where they could dry better. Before I could protest my boxers joined them splatting against the sand with a wet thwacking sound. "Serenity." I tried to protest as her hands deftly began to massage my cock.

"Relax; just leave the driving to me." She remarked with a playful smile before she pulled me deeper into the tree house where no one could ever hope to see us. A low moan escaped me and the entire tree trembled slightly as I partially lost control of my powers.

"This… Is… Very… Wrong." I gasped before letting her take me away from myself for however long we could last.

* * *

Naomi paused as Amy drew closer to the small opening, something about the holographic location gave her goose bumps; she was about to say something when a voice cried out and the next thing she knew Tidus had tackled her. 

"Hey Naomi long time." He greeted with a foppish grin.

"Is Al with you this time?" Selphie asked as she helped the shorter girl up, Naomi was blushing fiercely because of Tidus's actions and couldn't speak yet.

"If you mean my Daddy he's on the other side of the island having some private time with Aunt Serenity." Amy replied approaching these newcomers timidly.

"Who are you?" Tidus asked moving to examine Amy curiously.

"Amy Chelerise Desrochers." The girl replied circling Tidus and then Selphie curiously; she didn't know who they were exactly, but a part of her felt a familiarity most likely from her father's memories.

"Any relation to Alain Desrochers?" Selphie wondered with a smile.

"That's my daddy." She replied smiling proudly.

"Al has a kid." Tidus blurted. "No way."

"Well he is an adult now." Selphie pointed out with a giggle.

"Yeah, but she's not human." Tidus blurted clamping his mouth shut when he realized what he'd said knowing he'd hurt Amy's feelings.

"She's adopted, but that doesn't make her any less of a person." Naomi snapped her crush on Tidus no longer overpowering her as she was shown some of his less redeeming qualities.

"Sorry Amy I'm just a big mouth." Tidus apologized. "Pleased to meet you." He added reaching out to shake hands; Amy took it and shook, hard, Tidus grimaced at the strength the kid had, but said nothing.

"Now we can all check out this cave." Amy stated turning back to the opening in the rock face excitedly.

"No way; that place's haunted." Tidus stated turning back to the sunlight filled area on the beach. "Come on why don't we practice fighting?" He suggested.

"Can we?" Naomi wondered eager to get away from that cave.

"Yeah why not, I've got a few extra swords." Tidus replied heading down the small path that led back to the beach.

"But I want to explore." Amy whined.

"We can always look later with your dad." Naomi encouraged; Amy pouted a little, but finally relented and turned away from the entrance racing after the other three.

"This world is connected, tied to the Darkness… Soon to be completely eclipsed." A voice whispered on the breeze.

* * *

I groaned in pain as I slipped my arm through my shirt sleeve and glared at Serenity as she laughed at my misery; five times in quick succession with no breaks or opportunities to regain my strength, sure I had a lot of stamina, but still that was a bit much considering she was in her Goddess form. 

"You know most men would be dead after something like that, but you…" She trailed off with a funny little smile on her lips, that odd expression; I just couldn't put a name to it. For some reason it just seemed like she knew something and she didn't want to tell me.

"I know, I know." I returned as I tried to pull my boxers back on. "Ooooooo; that's a very sensitive junction." I groaned rubbing at my inner thighs.

"Awww, poor baby." Serenity returned. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?" She asked with a sly smile; I shook my head.

"No thank you." I replied. "Now are you finished being horny?" I asked with a grimace as a stab of pain shot through my nether regions and I fought the urge to scream.

"Not really, but I'll just have to be satisfied for now." She returned with a giggle at the look of exasperation on my face. "Better get the kids and leave; the three hours I scheduled are almost up." She pointed out sounding disappointed. "A shame really, I'm rather curious to see how far I could have taken you." She added smirking at the look of pure horror that sprang up on my face, _why did I ever give her what she wanted? _With another agonizing low moan I started walking towards the last place I'd seen the kids and Serenity followed after me observing my slow careful movements.  
I couldn't see it, but she was looking at me with a small hint of sadness on her face; she actually regretted hurting me so much after all for a Goddess certain things shared between mortal women involved a vastly different symptom. But I could never truly know; she wasn't about to tell me. And I was too busy focused on getting Amy and Naomi back to my quarters where I could rest and they could pick up my Transformers they'd left strewn about the floor. Rounding the next bend I saw Naomi blocking an attack from Tidus with a wooden sword; she had several welts and bruises on her face, but she was determined to beat him. I cursed under my breath despite the pain and broke into a run, despite the sharp stabbing pain running through my loins.

"Tidus what the pit were you thinking?" I demanded grabbing the young teen's sword from his grasp.

"Aw, I was going to beat him this time." Naomi grumbled straightening her stance and lowering her borrowed sword; Amy leapt down from her perch among the trees and re-established our mental link throwing me off a little as her amusement bombarded me.

"Computer end program." I simply stated; the world vanished around us and both girls began to protest.

"Our time is up I'm afraid and it is getting late." Serenity stated playing the role of mother.

"Already?" Amy asked in disappointment.

"Yes Amy I'm afraid so." She replied.

"Thank you for letting us use up your time like this Serenity." Naomi said smiling up at the Goddess.

"You're most welcome; now hurry on back to Al's quarters so that you can get your rest." She returned smiling strangely yet again; I shook my head and led the girls to the nearest turbo lift.

"Daddy you're limping." Amy stated with deep concern.

"It's nothing." I muttered my face growing hot.

"But you're hurt, did somebody attack you?" She asked piquing Naomi's curiosity who regarded me interested in hearing my response.

"Don't be absurd little one, I just; ah… Fell, that's all." I replied evasively attempting to walk faster to the turbo lift.

"But you were on the beach." Naomi pointed out rather observant.

"Please girls there are some things children should not be asking about." I hinted nervously tugging at my shirt to straighten the slight bunching that had occurred.

"Oh." Amy gasped with wide eyes and a giggle, Naomi glanced at her inquisitively and she whispered in her ear. Naomi began to giggle too and soon both of them were laughing so hard they had to stop walking or else they'd fall over. I made to say something, but decided it could only make things worse; so instead I simply levitated the two hysterical children beside me and floated them down the corridor to the turbo lift. Ignoring the few odd looks passerby shot my way I quickly got us inside and on our way to my quarters.

* * *

Amy awoke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat; her father was fast asleep and her friend was sleeping quietly on the couch, she couldn't remember the dream that had awoken her, but she knew that she was having a nightmare because she felt so very afraid. Her father wouldn't be able to help her right then; since he was asleep he couldn't be easily awoken, so she simply moved from her bed to his knowing that they would talk in the morning and maybe he could help her then. She cuddled up next to him under the covers wrapping her tail around his waist; she didn't know why she did it, it just felt natural. She smiled happily as a deep sense of security filled her; no more bad dreams would plague her while she was next to him, soon she was fast asleep.  
Serenity slipped into the room a few minutes later; she glanced about the room briefly and then moved to stand over her lover's bed, she smiled as she observed the slumbering forms of father and daughter. That strange smile spread across her face again as she considered this man and his role as father; briefly she placed her hand over her abdomen, a habit she'd been doing a lot of late in the privacy of her own quarters. She wanted desperately to share this news with him, but she knew that their relationship could never support such a thing; he wouldn't be able to move on if he knew that he would be leaving a pregnant Goddess behind. 

"Sleep well lover." She whispered brushing a stray lock of hair from Al's face and tucking it behind Amy's ear where it had come from. "I am quite sorry that I hurt you this afternoon, but our kind tend to develop strong urges during pregnancy." She added speaking to herself for no real reason; she smiled one last time before quickly leaving before accidentally awakening him or Amy.

* * *

Jenny's Personal Log; Hey mom, it's been a long time since I last updated you and dad on what's been going on. I've really kind of been out of the mood so to speak; not a lot of exciting stuff really seems to be happening, at least nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe I'll fill you in sometime as to the adventures shared collectively by this crew, but for right now I have a serious matter to discuss.  
It's sort of about Al; there's something about him of late that seems… Well he seems to be expecting something; as though he knows something no one else on the ship does, I have a feeling we're about to find our way back home and he's worried because he has to fight that demon overlord thing… Whatever that is; I mean, I'm not sure if I've ever told you how I befriended an actual Goddess, but still demons are hard to believe in. Especially when Al's the only one to ever see that Callopias guy in his physical form; I know I'm probably reading too much into this, but a part of me is eager to get back home, I really want to see you again. The brief sub-space messages the crew's allowed hardly covers what I want to say, how I want to say it, and all that. 

Mom I'm scared; scared that he's going to leave without saying goodbye, and he's become such a dear and close friend to the both of us. I know I've likened him to Kyle; and I firmly believe that he's gone beyond what we would have expected; our friendship really has developed into something akin to family. I don't know how, I don't know when, but it happened; and yet I can't deny a part of me is curious to know what could have been if I'd pursued something more with him, but I know it was never meant to be like that and the larger part of me is glad for it.

Anyway mom I just thought I'd get this off of my chest so to speak; especially now before we wind up having to go… Well it seems we've stumbled upon a ship of Klingons, can you believe that! And so we have to share our quarters with them because their stupid ship blew up; anyway Megan and I lucked out, we get to bunk with Al, which is kind of fun because that means we get to spend more time with Amy, he kind of hogs her to himself… Anyway gotta go; the family wants our quarters **now** and you know how Klingons can get.

To Be Concluded**; Yes you read that right, this is the second to last chapter, I've opted not to prolong all of this any further so next chapter you're going to see a lot of disjointed scenes... Well maybe they're disjointed who can say, but it's the end of War Against the Collective, no more sweet moments with Amy, no more ALMOST sex scenes with Serenity, and no more Delta Quadrant... For in the next exciting chapter Voyager returns home and our hero will be faced with the iminent confrontation in regards to Omnibus... Be here perhaps next weekend as we conclude this wonderous arc and seguay into the aptly titled... Oh wait; don't wanna spoil it, you'll just have to wait until next chapter to find out what the title of the story following War Against the Collective will be.**


	11. Chapter 11 Epilogue or Endgame Redux

**Author's Notes:** And so we have come to the end of another exciting series of adventures here aboard the Starship Voyager with my OCs; I hope you've all been enjoying this series of stories, so much so that perhaps you've gone back to read my Xena stories, which started it all for Alain... Who knows; perhaps you'll love the character so much you'll follow him into his next eciting adventure after his trip through the Omniverse resumes.  
You may notice something; this chapter is really long, well that's because I didn't feel like breaking it up, so that I could share the final moments of peace and tranquility in the Delta Quadrant before changing settings if you will and returning to the very real threat of Omnibus. So without further ado; I present the final Chapter of War Against the Collective, please if you haven't done so already at any point in this series I urge you to Read & Review, I'd love to hear from my readers on their thoughts surrounding everything that's happened so far.

* * *

I was startled awake by the door chime; with a half groan of enter I turned over to fall back asleep; Amy had been expecting Naomi after all.

"See; I told you he'd have enough room." The unmistakable voice of Jenny Delaney stated; I immediately sat back up in bed. Much to my surprise both Delaneys and Ensign Wildman were present; Amy looked a little fearful at this.

"Daddy what's going on?" She wondered; I groaned as a stray memory chose that moment to surface.

"The Klingons." I muttered flopping back onto the pillow.

"Exactly." Megan agreed with a small shake of her head. "And since you're one of the few crewmen with large enough quarters; we've all decided to bunk with you." She continued unrolling a sleeping bag; Jenny began packing spare clothing away for the lot of them in the drawers I'd never got around to using.

"You mean; we have to share a room with all of you?" Amy asked worriedly.

"It'll be fun Amy." Naomi piped up. "And it won't be for too long." She added smiling.

"Amy wasn't kidding; you've done some redecorating since our last sleep over." Samantha remarked picking up my replicated Devastator and eyeing it curiously, she was probably wondering how all six of them stayed together since their linking mechanisms weren't in plain sight.

"Knock, knock." Serenity suddenly called striding purposefully into the room. "Well; I see I'm not the only one who pulled for Ensign Desrochers." She added with a smile. "Shall we draw lots or would you prefer to all sleep with him; I'm sure the bed will hold us." She teased; I let out a very obvious sigh.

"This is just Prime." I muttered before rolling over and pointedly closing my eyes. "I'm exhausted, considering its twenty-two hundred ship's time; kindly settle yourselves quietly if you please." I stated. "I seriously need to regenerate." I added before managing to quiet my mind; still my breathing and attempted to fall back asleep, the bed shook and I felt Amy's uncertainty waving off her in spades.  
"It's ok little one; they're all friends." I whispered reaching out a hand and stroking her hair, she enjoyed the sensation of being petted; most likely due to her feline nature.

"I know Daddy; it's just…" She trailed off and instead curled up next to me. "Never mind you need sleep; I'll be ok." She stated brushing her tail over my exposed leg; it tickled the hair there and felt odd against my skin, I smiled in gratitude and promptly fell asleep.

"Looks like you spoke too soon Serenity." Jenny whispered with a tiny smirk; the Goddess in disguise merely smiled and briefly rubbed her belly, which in this form gave no appearance to having swelled.

"He is an excellent father." She agreed; _still I know he is not meant for me or this unborn son, I have long sensed greatness in his future and I know we will never be a part of it; though part of me does feel saddened by that._

"There's only one couch." Naomi suddenly complained breaking the Goddess from her inner thoughts.

"You can have my bed; I'll share Daddy's." Amy offered; Sam looked somewhat alarmed by that.

"It's ok." Serenity soothed. "The regeneration function has an off switch." She informed with a tiny smile.

"That leaves the couch for you then Sam; me and Jenny are ok with the floor." Megan added patting the couch in question.

"Is there a particular reason we all chose this room again?" Sam wondered with a tiny knowing smirk.

"I don't know; Al is just about the only male crewman on this ship I don't think we have to worry about." Megan quipped.

"The trouble of being so beautiful." Jenny added with a giggle.

"Speak for yourself; I'm married remember." Sam countered with a laugh; Naomi was too busy examining Amy's bed to pay much attention, it was a lot different from hers and she was a little uncertain about it.

"Besides; it's all for a good cause right?" Serenity chimed in. "I just can't believe the Captain approved." She added with a mischievous smirk.

"Who says she does?" Megan returned with a wink.

"You two wouldn't have any designs on my boy toy would you?" Serenity asked in mock outrage; it was hard not to burst into raucous laughter at that remark.

"Of course not." Jenny countered in a reprimanding tone of voice. "I'm not entirely sure why we all decided on sharing his room like this." She added thoughtfully. "But… Well; we just did." Serenity grinned knowingly; when close friendships were born on a vessel such as this, more often then not the people involved preferred each others' company. This was why the Captain and most of her senior staff rarely interacted personally with every member of this crew; and perhaps she had done a little meddling, she was after all a little tired of being alone in this room with him, she missed having other women around for girl talk. And besides; with the number of Klingons aboard she had a feeling there were some crewmen a little put out at the moment, rumor persisted that Crewman Tal Celes and Ensign Bristow were seeing each other.

"Aunt Serenity; where are you going to be sleeping?" Amy wondered breaking the woman from her thoughts; she smiled and moved to stand beside the bed.

"Right here with you and your daddy, if you don't mind." She returned; Amy smiled happily and shook her head.

"I don't mind Aunt Serenity, good night." She returned before promptly falling asleep herself; the room was soon utterly quiet, save for the continuous soft purring of the Catarian girl.

* * *

Samantha smiled as Amy and Naomi zipped about the room making fake laser sounds; they were playing with Al's Transformers again, though the disconcerting aspect was having the holographic Ravage online watching over both girls while Al was on duty. He really wasn't needed, but Al had a fondness for the Holo-'Cons as he dubbed them; and so he sometimes activated one or two when he was in a mood. Megan and Jenny were getting lunch leaving Sam alone with the girls and the silent guard; because Serenity was off doing something she wouldn't say what.

"Mommy; are those Klingons going to be gone soon?" Naomi asked pausing in her play; it had been a few days now and she was getting a little fed up with being cooped up in these quarters with everyone.

"Soon honey." Sam returned with a small smile. "Now why don't we put the Transformers away for now and go get lunch?" She suggested; Naomi reluctantly agreed, she was actually very hungry, Amy smiled revealing her fangs.

"Come on Ravage; I'm hungry too." Amy called before dashing out of the quarters; Ravage let out a tiny growl and shook his head almost as though exasperated with his new lot in life, he shimmered briefly and vanished knowing that it was better to remain cloaked rather then reveal that he still existed to the entire crew.

* * *

I sighed as I removed the article of female attire from the sonic shower's door; over three hundred years since my own century and women still had a nasty habit of leaving things lying about. If it wasn't Sam's shoes, it was Jenny's shirt or Megan's bra… Which surprisingly still looked relatively the same in this century. Well; at least now I knew what it was like to have sisters; still better then my brother, at least they didn't leave the toilet seat up or punch me in the arm for no damn reason.

"Sorry." Megan suddenly apologized from behind me causing me to jump; I passed the article of clothing to her my face flushing slightly.

"It's not the end of the world." I returned with a small indifferent shrug and turning to leave; I'd forgotten what I wanted anyway.

"The Klingons will be gone soon." Jenny pointed out as we both returned to the main room. "They're starting to transport down now." She added.

"Hey; I never minded having you here you know." I returned with a warm smile. "It was kind of fun actually; it does get kind of lonely around here after Amy's gone to bed and Serenity's on duty shift." I admitted; Jenny nodded in agreement.

"I know the feeling, Megan and I share quarters." She reminded; I chuckled lightly and proceeded to head off to my duty shift.

"See you tonight; unless your quarters are free." I called before the door shut; Jenny shook her head and resumed reading her data pad while Megan stashed her bra.

"He's used to having a big family around." She pointed out. "A shame we can't stay here all the time." She added with a tiny smirk.

"You notice how he's managed to avoid coming in contact with any of the Klingons though?" Jenny wondered; Megan nodded.

"A little gun shy I bet after all that time he had to spend with B'Elanna when he first got here." She returned her smirk widening into a grin. "Shall we attempt to break him from that?" She wondered.

"Oh do let's." Jenny returned with a mischievous smile; and together the two sisters began to plot.

* * *

Samantha's Personal Log; Hey honey, I know now we have the chance to talk to you and I've really been meaning to, but it's just so busy around here of late. A lot of the crew tends to take up much of my time when I least expect it; just the other day we almost lost three sub-systems because of some test or something, I'm not entirely sure what those people in Engineering were really up to.  
We can't really get in touch with anyone in the Alpha Quadrant right now anyway; we're stuck in another dismal void, Al mentioned it was about to happen, that man's future knowledge can be quite irksome at times when he inadvertently let's something slip out. Though I'm certain he doesn't mean to; Naomi is growing quite well and really excelling at her work thanks to Seven of Nine and Al, oh drat… I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short honey; I'm late for duty… End Recording.

* * *

Amy sighed as she glanced out our bedroom window; I couldn't blame her for her dissatisfaction at the loss of stars, the last void we'd been in hadn't been a picnic.

"Will you be alright here while daddy's on duty?" I asked; my adopted daughter smiled cheerily up at me.

"I'll be just fine Daddy." She replied leaping into my arms and smiling as she hugged me tightly; I ruffled her hair as I put her back down on the decking, then I headed off to my current duty shift longing for just a hint of starlight in this vast bleakness.

* * *

"Report lieutenant." The Captain ordered as she and Commander Chakotay entered engineering shortly after my initial arrival.

"We're using power at almost ten times the usual rate." B'Elanna informed switching duty stations as she spoke.

"While we're standing still?" Chakotay wondered curiously.

"The same graviton forces that pulled us into the anomaly; seem to be draining the warp core." Our intrepid chief engineer stated; I worked around the core in question and came up alongside her inputting a few commands necessary for my current task. "At this rate our Deuterium will be gone in about ten days." She added ignoring my hovering presence; she'd gotten used to my odd patterns and constant presence whenever I was on duty, keeping track of everything I did to further the upkeep of our home wasn't easy. As long as I didn't interfere with ships' systems she didn't truly mind; I studied the readout and nodded, it was possible, but not recommended.

"Shut down all non-essential systems." Janeway ordered walking away from the console; Chakotay was quick to follow her with his eyes at least.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To find a way out of here." She informed before taking her leave; I cleared my throat to get their attention.

"Commander; I may be able to offer you a short term solution." I spoke up.

"I'm listening." Chakotay returned; he hadn't lost his cautious nature around me, but at least he spoke with me cordially whenever I had something to say.

"I can interlink with the ships main computer for eighteen hours a day and supply a constant source of renewable back up power." I stated sub-consciously clasping my hands behind my back. "After each regeneration cycle; it's not much, but it could prove the difference between life and death." I added.

"Is there any chance of problems?" Chakotay asked "System failures; energy loss, physical harm?"

"I've run all the calculations and variables; there is a point zero three percent chance of the lights flickering on and off, but ultimately no permanent damage to the ship." I informed; B'Elanna shook her head with a slight snarl.

"And what about you Ensign?" She demanded; I sighed openly.

"Sixty-nine percent chance of critical systems failure and synaptic overload, but it's a risk I'm willing to take." I stated argumentatively; Chakotay shook his head firmly.

"Sorry Ensign; I appreciate what you're willing to do, but we can't accept, no life on this ship is worth that kind of risk." He returned somberly; I sighed dejectedly as he patted my shoulder briefly, at least I'd tried. Returning to my duties I began to consider alternatives; it wasn't easy, I was seriously beginning to hate spatial voids.

"What ever happened to that hyper drive system you proposed?" Chakotay wondered turning to B'Elanna questioningly.

"It flopped; all our simulations ended with us either blown to smithereens or lost forever in hyper space." She returned with a sigh. "There just wasn't enough data on the theories of that type of space travel or engine design to be adapted properly." She added.

"Sorry." I spoke up. "But I did tell you I'd never heard of any detailed schematics on my Earth, let alone read them; it was a fictional universe after all." I added; B'Elanna smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Not your fault Ensign; it was an unusual and highly unstable means of travel if you ask me anyway." She added; I shook my head at that having a feeling that the real Luke Skywalker or Han Solo might say the same thing about anti-matter warp cores and light speed, but I had work to do still, maybe if I just did what they did on the episode… Then again the Captain was already getting along with that contingency; we needed something short term to get us through, _hmmmm I wonder if I could figure out how to create Energon…_

* * *

"Daddy I hate the dark." Amy complained cuddling next to me in our quarters much later that night; I sighed slightly and ruffled her hair.

"It'll be ok little one; besides we're capable of seeing better in the dark." I reminded; Amy nodded and wrapped her tail around my waist, soon she'd fallen asleep.

"I can't believe we're sharing quarters again." Megan remarked from the darkness of the room; I chuckled slightly and regarded her form on the couch.

"Not so surprising; the duty roster for bunk mates was still semi-ideal for our current situation." I pointed out. "Besides I don't think Tuvok or the Captain got around to erasing it." I added conspiratorially.

"At least we don't have to worry about Klingons going through our things." Jenny retorted; I chuckled along with the women and gently stroked my daughters' hair as she slept one good thing about being a human battery… At least I could give her the proper nourishment; by supplying my own personal energy for the replicator she still got three square meals a day.

"Your daughter is so cute." Samantha remarked suddenly. "I just had to say that; her purring is just so adorable." She added smiling in the darkness.

"As much as I enjoy this time we're spending together; it is late, perhaps we can talk more in the morning." I strongly suggested; then I grinned. "And thank you for the compliment." I added softly before silence fell upon us; though the soft purring of my sleeping child filled the room with a pleasing and soothing atmosphere, soon we were all asleep.

* * *

"Do me a favor; don't leave my toys on the floor." Al groaned rubbing his back; Amy whimpered slightly by way of apology and nuzzled his chest briefly.

"Sorry Daddy; I forgot where I left Skywarp." She whispered; her father chuckled lightly.

"Perhaps we should leave the black Decepticons and Autobots on the shelf until we get full power back." He suggested; Jenny poked her head in from the refresher.

"Al; you're back… Is it true; is the Captain preparing to leave?" She asked hopefully; Al nodded smiling as he did so.

"She is; and I have a feeling this one will work out." He reported with a brief warning glance at Amy; she giggled and promptly took Skywarp from his hands. She put him away while Jenny emerged fully and fetched a change of clothes wearing nothing more then a towel around her. Al had surprisingly gotten used to women in his quarters in towels and so the natural urge to blush; as well as other urges that remain nameless no longer plagued him.

"I can't wait to get full power back." She exclaimed with a huff. "It's hard to tell if I'm co-coordinating my outfits properly in the dark." She added with a slight pout before slipping back inside the refresher to change; Al shook his head exasperatedly at that, and proceeded to pick up the other Transformers Amy had left on the bed. Personally he couldn't wait either; despite the fact that he had optic sensors who could recalibrate to compensate for the dull lighting he was getting a little tired of barely discerning one crewman from the next… Just the other day he'd mistaken Celes for someone else; of course it wasn't hard when the person had your back to you and was halfway down the corridor, she was more surprised then him though and quite embarrassed as well after all he'd thought he'd been sneaking up on Serenity.

"Ah well; no sense reminiscing about past mistakes, or should I say dwelling upon them; I'd better prepare for my next duty shift." He muttered to himself; even though his next duty shift was almost twenty-four hours from now.

* * *

Icheb glanced over Ensign Desrochers' shoulder at the readouts being displayed; it had taken them a long time to manage to find the ship after evacuating it, of course the way the Ensign had been flying he had felt it would have taken a considerably longer time.

"There appears to be substantial damage." He noted.

"Indeed." Ensign Desrochers returned. "I'm approaching the docking bay; I just hope there's somebody home." He added.

* * *

"Reinitialize the sub-space transponder." The Doctor ordered the computer as I did my best to facilitate repairs; it was not easy and I was seriously getting frustrated with this slow pace.

"Warning; main computer is failing." The computer called out with a jerking static filled voice; both of us sighed as one.

"Switch to back up processors." The Doc ordered; I snapped my panel shut at last and examined the progress; it seemed to be working again.

"Main computer stabilized." The computer informed; I let out a groan as I moved onto the next sub-system.

"Good." The Doc stated in a soft tone. "Now lets' try this again." He added climbing back to his feet. "Reinitialize the sub-space transponder." He ordered.

"Unable to comply." The Computer returned; I rolled my eyes.

"Why not?" He demanded.

"Insufficient power." She returned; I couldn't help thinking of it as feminine with that voice, it didn't care one way or the other of course.

"And they say I'm difficult." The Doc muttered eliciting a smirk from me. "Reroute power from the replicator system." He ordered.

"Unable to comply." The Computer returned yet again; I'd only been back less then four hours and already I was getting frustrated.

"Clarify." The Doc snapped.

"Relays to the transponder are fused." She stated.

"Any suggestions?" The Doctor wondered aggravated.

"Please restate the inquiry." The computer requested causing the Doc to sigh yet again.

"Can the power relays be bypassed?" He spoke up after allowing himself to calm down slightly.

"Negative." She simply responded.

"Then I suppose I'll have to replace them by hand." He muttered more to himself then me; that's when the alarm went off bringing us both up short.

"Warning; intruder alert." She alerted; I glanced briefly at the Doc, but he wasn't looking at me.

"Where?" He asked slightly fearful.

"The Bridge." She returned.

"How many?" He asked next; I suddenly recalled who it was and relaxed slightly, Amy, Naomi and Serenity would be ok.

"Two humanoids." She clarified; _Man I gotta stop doing that, the computer is not a person or a woman. Though I bet Kirk would contradict me considering what happened to him that one time the ship's computer fell in love with him._ I smirked at that before refocusing my attention to what was going on around me.

"Can you identify them?" He inquired semi-hopeful.

"Negative; sensor resolution is below twenty percent." The Computer returned; now he shot me a look and I shrugged no sense in giving anything away.

"I'll check it out; you continue work here." He ordered before heading out of Engineering.

"Suits me just fine; these damn life support systems are really getting on my nerves though." I grumbled under my breath double checking the amount of oxygen in my suits' supply. "It'd be easier if I didn't have to wear this cumbersome environmental get up." I added annoyed before resuming my work.

"Icheb to Ensign Desrochers; I have managed to return the regeneration alcoves to proper working order." The young former drone called over our internal coms.

"Great work Icheb; how much air do you have left?" I asked.

"Approximately three point nine hours." He returned.

"Then please join me in engineering; the life support systems are pissing me off and you're going to need to regenerate soon." I requested; though I couldn't see it I bet Icheb had nodded.

"Understood Ensign." He returned before falling silent.

"Whistle while you work." I whispered to myself trying to suppress the urge to kick the console.

* * *

"Stop what you're doing and turn around." The Doctor ordered after slipping onto the bridge; the two humanoids in environmental suits spun around.

"Take it easy Doc it's us." Harry returned revealing to the hologram that he was among friends.

"It's good to see some friendly faces." He admitted striding across the bridge to join his friends. "For that matter it's good to see any faces at all." He added with a wide smile. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten life support back online yet, but since I've been the only one aboard until recently it hasn't been a priority." He added by way of apology.

"What the hell happened?" Chakotay demanded; the Doctor's expression changed slightly.

"We ran into some; problems." He replied semi-elusively.

"I can see that." Chakotay observed. "Can you be a little more specific?" He requested.

"Of course." The Doctor returned; he moved to his left slightly and steeled himself for what was to come next, and so he began to inform the two crewmen about the near disaster. They were clearly shocked and slightly stunned by the revelations, but before they could say anything something unexpected happened.

"Doctor." A voice cut in breaking through the silence and startling both Chakotay and Harry.

"I thought you said no one else was aboard." Chakotay pointed out; the Doctor shrugged.

"Ensign Desrochers' shuttle only found me a few hours ago; I didn't feel it necessary or vitally important to mention him just yet." He defended before tapping his com badge. "Go ahead Ensign."

"If you've finished your little debriefing with Commander Chakotay and Ensign Kim could you get them down here?" Al requested. "These systems are seriously starting to tick me off even with Icheb to help and the ladies are extremely tired of being cooped up in our shuttle." He elaborated with a snarl as the unmistakable sound of someone punching a useless console could be heard.

"We're on our way." The Doc returned with a smile.

"I keep forgetting he knows more about our future then I'd care to like." Harry muttered as the trio made their way off the bridge.

* * *

Jenny and Megan Delaney were most pleased that they had managed to find a job with someone that at least looked like them; the woman's name was Samantha Wildman, and she always seemed to have a joyful expression when it came to describing the workload to her employees… And yet all three women had this nagging sensation; as though something in their lives was missing, Sam was often found crying as though at some great loss when she wasn't on duty; Megan and Jenny offered to comfort her, but to no avail, whatever she was missing it was very dear to her and the wound cut deeply. Still they knew not what they could do; save try to cheer her up, that's all anyone could ask for, but why then did all three of them have this strange feeling? And why did the name Al hold a great significance to them?

* * *

"Power to the secondary propulsion systems has been restored." The Computer alerted; I smiled right alongside the Doctor, it had been time consuming, but we did it.

"Kim to the Doctor; report to astrometrics." Harrys' voice floated out of the com.

"On my way." He returned before taking his leave; with a sigh I got back to work.

"So tell me Ensign; why the shuttle?" Neelix asked as he worked on his station; I sighed, going over my reasons with Chakotay had been bad enough and he still avoided me for not telling the Captain or thinking of bringing her along.

"Because of what I knew was going to happen; I tried to get Sam and a few others to come too, but we all got separated in the massive confusion of abandoning the ship." I revealed. "Naomi, Icheb and Serenity were the only others to get aboard with us; fortunately I knew a few tricks to avoid pursuit." I added with a smirk as the system I'd been working on finally registered.  
"Joy; Serenity will be pleased, I just got the sonic showers back." I crooned happily; it was good to make some progress for a change.

"Don't you know where the crew is though?" Neelix wondered; I shook my head.

"I know what's happened to them; I know they're on a planet and I know what they're going through…" I trailed off with a sigh. "Unfortunately I don't know the specific coordinates of where the planet is; and as for the rest well, let's just say I'm under strict orders not to share that with anyone." I revealed.

"Aha; that's got it." Neelix exclaimed as his station beeped; I smiled at that.

"Slowly and surely we get this ship up to specs once again." I stated thoughtfully; Neelix nodded and moved to his next task.

"That's the spirit Mister Desrochers; keep it up and we'll be done in no time." Neelix professed with a smile; I shook my head yet again at the Talaxians' hopeless optimism and got straight back to work, my next agenda… Return power to the toilet systems, which for some reason were always more complex then the sonic showers.

* * *

"I can't penetrate their shields." Harry exclaimed as I raced onto the shaking bridge; this was just great, _I'd just fixed up most of the damn ship and now they want to blow out all the systems again._

"Maybe we don't have to." The Doc mused as I slipped behind Tuvoks' tactical station to give Harry a hand; two hands were better then one after all, though it still felt strange to be taking orders from the Emergency Command Hologram. "The battle of Orkada; it's in my tactical database." He began to explain. "A Romulan Captain; disabled two attacking vessels by creating a photonic shockwave between the two ships." He revealed; I didn't like the delays here, every second our shields continued to get dangerously low.

"How'd he do that?" Harry wondered.

"Watch and learn." The Doc returned inputting the commands into the helms' station. "I don't think they'll be bothering us again." He stated confidently once the ships were disabled.

"Good work." Harry complimented. "Lets' go back for Chakotay." He added.

"Five more ships on an intercept course." I spoke up stealing the Docs' line as the computer alerted us to what sensors had just detected.

"What's your tactical database telling you now?" Harry wondered in an ever so slight sarcastic frame of voice; at least it seemed that way to me.

"Transporters are damaged; shields are failing, we have to retreat. Come up with a new plan." The Doc stated from his assumed station; I groaned under my breath at the damage assessment now popping up on screen.

"Agreed." Harry stated for no practical reason I could discern.

"And after all dat hard work." I grumbled in a Scottish bur. "Captain; permission ta give Commander Chakotay a stern lecture after we get'im back?" I asked in jest.

"Permission denied." The Doc returned with a slight grin easily recognizing who I was both honoring and spoofing at the same time.

"Ah well; 'tis a fine ship, and a fine crew, we'll get her shipshape in no time." I remarked having no clue why I was trying so hard; Harry eyed me warily and I shot him a wink, it was at least fun to pretend to be Scotty, even if I was only doing it to help lighten the somber mood around here.

* * *

Samantha sat at her usual table going over the daily reports that her job entailed; Jenny and Megan spotted her and came over with a smile of false cheer, they had found their friend crying in her office again this morning. They really didn't know how they could help her, but they aimed to try; the twins ignored the appreciative gazes shot their way and instead joined their friend and boss.

"Hey Sam; what's up?" Jenny asked.

"Nothing." Sam replied with a sigh as she lowered her data pad. "At least I keep telling myself that." She added in a low whisper.

"You've been miserable since we met you, can't you tell us what's been bothering you?" Megan asked hopeful that this time Sam would break down and admit something was wrong.

"I don't know." She admitted. "You don't know anyone named Naomi do you?" She asked; both women shook their heads.

"Should we?" Jenny wondered.

"It's just… I keep feeling as though someone has ripped my own flesh and blood from me, like I'm supposed to have a daughter… And the name Naomi keeps haunting my dreams." Sam revealed in a hushed tone. "But that's insane right? Who would want to kidnap my own daughter and then erase all knowledge of her from my mind?" She asked with a laugh; the kind of laugh that felt hollow even to the user.

"Oh Sam." Megan returned equally softly; she reached out and clutched the other woman's hand in a show of encouragement. "We know someone… So to speak, we'll ask them if they've ever heard of a girl named Naomi ever coming to this planet." She added with a strong conviction.

"If anything's going on we'll help you figure it out." Jenny offered with a warm smile; Sam thanked the both of them with a simple expression of camaraderie and together the women turned their conversation to happier things.

* * *

"When are we going to get my mother back?" Naomi asked worriedly; I sighed wistfully and patted her briefly on the head out of habit.

"Don't worry little bit; we'll get her back." I assured softly; Amy nodded and shot her an encouraging smile.

"I hope so; I'm scared, and I miss Seven." She revealed sadly; I offered her a smile in turn and knelt down to give her a hug.

"It's ok to be sad Naomi; rest assured however we will get her back." I stated firmly; Naomi cheered up a little and gently returned my hug. "Well I'd better get back to repairs, the faster its' done the faster we can get your mom back." I encouraged before grabbing my ever present repair kit of late and heading out swiftly to get some work done.

* * *

I growled as I raced down the corridor to main engineering; someone had to monitor the systems down here, the ship shook again and I stumbled into a bulkhead.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." I grumbled before racing into main engineering. "Bridge; this is Ensign Desrochers, anything I can do down here?" I wondered.

"Just make sure the containment isn't lost." B'Elanna ordered; I nodded and assumed a post near the warp core, Icheb startled me by joining me at that moment.

"Understood, but make certain you dampen my life signs as well as Serenity and the kids." I called out; I could tell that confused them, but they'd understand in about three minutes or so.  
"And donna' worry about yer engines; I'll take good care of'em lassie." I added slipping back into my Scotty impression out of some sudden and strange reflex; I could hear B'Elanna's groan clearly over the com channel, and I chuckled before cutting the link. "Well laddie; looks like we're in charge of these here engines for the duration of this confrontation, care to place your faith in a semi-insane Technorganic Borg?" I asked Icheb; the young former drone quirked an eyebrow in imitation of Seven or perhaps Spock considering what he said next.

"Highly illogical Ensign, but most apropos given our current situation." He remarked smirking slightly.

"There ye are laddie; ye just got to learn to have a little fun every now and then." I returned with a laugh; Icheb nodded.

"Indeed." He stated before placing all focus on the task at hand; ah me, I'd corrupt the kid yet.

* * *

"Mommy!" Naomi exclaimed as she rushed into Samantha Wildman's arms joyfully; Sam was in tears at being reunited with her daughter, Al smiled at the joyous sight and picked Amy up ruffling her hair playfully as he approached the women he called friends.

"Good job." Jenny Delaney whispered coming up beside him; he smiled further at the compliment.

"It's what I do best." He returned softly even as Amy happily rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her tail around his waist; she and Al were made for each other.

"Thank you so much." Sam exclaimed graciously; Al shrugged slightly careful not to upset Amy from her perch.

"What can I say; I like being a parent." He returned with a wide almost obnoxious grin; Sam beamed at him and offered a light kiss on the cheek, a sign of her gratitude and their friendship.

"Come on let's celebrate." Megan exclaimed joining her sister opposite Al; the two of them then began to lead him towards the mess hall, he smiled tiredly, yet graciously.

"Good idea; I've had enough of repairs and being one of the sole crewmembers on this ship to last a lifetime." He remarked allowing them to lead him onwards; fortunately he wasn't scheduled for any duty shifts for the next five days, the Captain in her wisdom decided to give him a sorely needed break… Although part of it was mostly because whenever he was in engineering he wouldn't stop roaring at the rest of his co-workers in Scotty's voice and B'Elanna was tired of being told… 'How many times do I have te say it, the right tool fer the right job!'

* * *

I sighed as I passed Q in the corridor; Tuvok was leading him to astrometrics again, at least Q hadn't bothered me when he and his son popped in. Then again it wouldn't have been a good idea for that omnipotent pest to be bothering me at the moment considering I had this nagging feeling Omnibus was watching me constantly now as the events of Endgame drew closer and closer.

"_Daddy is it ok to go to the holodeck with Naomi?_" Amy suddenly asked telepathically; I smiled briefly.

"_Ok little one, but don't stay too long._" I returned; Amy squealed internally with glee causing me to flinch slightly at the level she was projecting my teeth wound up rattling in their head. Feelings of apology flooded me, but I shot her a reassuring feeling in turn. "_It's ok; you shouldn't be so upset by these things, I'll get used to these little outbursts eventually. And I'm sure you'll improve with more experience._" I returned; Amy cheered slightly and took off from wherever she was, I shook my head briefly and resumed my trek to the bridge and today's duty shift.  
"Ah joy; more fun with helm duty… Still at least it takes my mind off of this damn feeling of unease, the Alpha Quadrant is after all a lot closer then anyone else is aware." I mused to myself passing into the turbo lift; and of course once we got back there… Omnibus and loathed though I was to admit, I was **not** ready for him.

* * *

Neelix startled me by sitting down next to me in the mess hall a few days later; he smiled jubilantly at me and eyed the data pad I was working on briefly, I eyed him curiously.

"May I help you Mister Neelix?" I asked.

"Oh no, no, it's nothing like that Ensign." He returned hastily. "I'm afraid I might not be around much longer and I felt like giving you a proper farewell, we've been through quite a lot on this ship you and I." He remarked.

"You could say that again." I remarked with a half-smirk. "So; is she beautiful?" I asked; Neelix shot me a startled look, but then broke into a smile.

"Oh yes; and she has a son too…" He trailed off with a happy little sigh; I chuckled slightly and shook my head.

"The things we won't do for a damsel in distress." I remarked partially in jest; Neelix laughed at that and nodded in agreement.

"It's been a pleasure teaching you my trade secrets Ensign; and again I must express my greatest joy that you and Kes became such good friends… I will miss all of my friends here on Voyager, but we'll always be able to talk via sub-space of course." He noted reaching out to shake my hand; I smiled and returned the gesture.

"Perhaps, unfortunately I have a feeling I won't be here much longer my self; though I'd appreciate it if you kept that under your hat." I returned with a slight wink; Neelix raised a hand and shook his head in understanding.

"Good luck wherever the Omniverse takes you." He stated before rising to his feet and giving me one final shake of the hand farewell before taking his leave; I sighed, it just wouldn't be the same without Neelix aboard.

* * *

Personal Log; Supplemental, Things seem to have progressed rapidly of late; from the discovery of Friendship One to the Doctors' little espionage tract, it was the closest thing to avoid spilling the beans on him, but since Amy, Serenity and I have been spending as much time as we could together it proved easily enough. Now; events were… Or should I say are going to come to a head; soon we're going to be back in the Alpha Quadrant and then I must face the greatest evil I have ever known.

Omnibus… I'm not ready, but I'll try my damndest and with a bit of luck I'll come out on top; after all I did take down Callopias. I've decided to get intimately involved in this, the last true mission of the Starship Voyager here in the Delta Quadrant; for two reasons actually, the first being a divine curiosity and desire to witness these climactic moments from the other side of the television screen. And the second being my intense interest in discerning whether or not Admiral Janeway has any knowledge of my existence; call it professional curiosity, I was wondering if I even existed in that alternate timeline.

* * *

"The emissions are occurring at the center of the Nebula." Seven was saying as I quietly slipped onto the bridge. "There appear to be hundreds of distinct sources." She added.

"Which could translate to hundreds of wormholes." Harry pointed out exceedingly hopeful.

"The radiation is interfering with our sensors, but if Ensign Kims' enthusiasm turns out to be justified. It would be the most concentrated occurrence of wormholes ever recorded." Seven concurred; I smirked briefly, the Borg Transwarp hub was definitely not my idea of a good discovery. And yet it tipped the balance in favor of Janeway and meant at very long last, Voyager could return home.

"Any idea where they lead?" The Captain inquired.

"Not yet, but if just one of them leads to the Alpha Quadrant." Harry pointed out his enthusiastic hope filled tone proving most contagious.

"Who knows Harry; might take us right into your parents' living room." Tom quipped; a most improbable development indeed, spatial anomalies did not appear inside a planets' atmosphere… At least nothing as complex as a wormhole.

"Alter course Mister Paris." Janeway ordered; then she shifted gazes to Harry. "Ensign; when you speak to your mother tell her we may need her to move the sofa." She added furthering Tom's tasteless joke; this atmosphere was contagious, suddenly a stray thought hit me. Amy wanted me back in our quarters; I smiled slightly and quickly took my leave of the bridge.

* * *

Amy gave me a quick hug; now was the time to meet Admiral Janeway, she'd be arriving soon. Serenity eyed me warily; she alone was privileged to my advanced knowledge in this instance; she knew what was going to happen once there.

"Omnibus will not win." I stated softly belying my own sense of unease concerning the upcoming confrontation; she pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed me passionately.

"I hope so." She whispered; I adopted a confident expression despite the inner uncertainty I faced.

"I know so." I stated confidently before taking my leave; events were rapidly progressing now, it was only a matter of time… If only I had some convenient deux ex machina like the Autobot Matrix of Leadership to help me out.

* * *

"I don't remember ever having an Ensign Desrochers aboard this vessel." The Admiral remarked; I'd been silently observing certain key events while working selective duty shifts, most notably her briefing of Voyager crew on the new offensive and defensive systems.

"I thought as much; I was inserted into this timeline, therefore it stands to reason there wouldn't be any other version of me in your alternate timeline." I stated turning from my work.

"Are you a temporal operative then?" She wondered curiously, apprehension clear in her tone; I laughed and shook my head.

"Nonsense; I'm from an Alternate reality all of my own, I am currently aboard Voyager to undergo some kind of training regime to better serve the God of my Earth." I returned; the Admiral took that at face value and shook her head slightly.

"Temporal mechanics still give me a headache." She noted; I eyed her briefly before turning back to my duty station.

"I don't see any harm in letting you know the extent of my knowledge." I remarked thoughtfully. "You will succeed." I added discretely; making sure no one else could hear me.

"How do you know that?" She demanded; I smiled and tilted my head in Captain Janeway's direction.

"Ask her about my reality sometime; it might prove an interesting development." I suggested before finishing my task and dutifully striding from the bridge; Admiral Janeway never once took her gaze off me, I shot her a wink before the turbo lift doors closed. For once I could have a little fun thanks to my knowledge; and I intended to have as much fun as I could.

* * *

Megan's Personal Log: Supplemental; There's a charged air about the ship of late, we all can feel it no matter what some of us might claim. We're going home; there's no other explanation for all of these crazy alterations to the ship, no other way to say it, we're going home. Ensign Desrochers knew this all along of course, but he's still just as excited as the rest of us; he looks like a kid flitting about the ship and soaking in every moment of these events as he can, in point of fact I believe his intense interest in what's happening with this new Admiral Janeway around is what's making everyone feel this way.

Despite his attempts to hide it; people have noticed, Crewman Celes was whistling a happy little tune from one of Al's movie nights the other day on duty and I can't blame her… I can't wait to see the Earth again; to be with my family, and most importantly to get off this damn ship… I think Jenny and I are going to take a few turns of duty on planet for the next couple of years, we've both seen enough of space to last us a lifetime… Still that's not to say I'm not going to miss seeing new worlds and new civilizations; or the other friends we've managed to make here. I wonder though; what's going to come of Al once we're back?

* * *

"Bridge to Engineering." The Captain called from her seat.

"Go ahead Captain." B'Elanna returned.

"Deploy armor." She ordered.

"Yes mame." The chief engineer returned; I grinned from my position next to Harry, I wasn't on duty today, merely observing as was my prerogative at the moment.

"This is so cool." I muttered more to myself then anybody in general; it was a secret thrill to be here, we entered the Nebula and instantly the Borg responded.

"Armor integrity at ninety-seven percent." Tuvok reported after the initial volley; the Admiral appeared quite pleased, I had to stifle the sudden urge to cheer. Amy's emotions were pouring through our telepathic link; it was not easy, but it was most welcome.

"Tuvok." The Captain left her question unanswered; the Borg's attacks were doing minimal damage.

"Integrity holding at ninety percent." He returned; I examined a readout to my left curiously, I was quite fascinated with this ablative armor technology to be honest, it was so unlike the Star Trek mythos of the past.

"Maintain course." Captain Janeway ordered.

"They're looking for ways to adapt." Admiral Janeway spoke up as the three cubes initiated scans; I curled my lip slightly.

"Her majesty is in a particularly protective mood today." I remarked. "I wonder if she's forgotten about me yet?" I added with a twisted smirk; Amy sent me feelings of disapproval and I quickly sobered up.

"Port armor integrity down to fifty percent." Tuvok announced once the cubes began to step up their assault; I shot a glance to one of the monitors rapidly deciphering the information. "Forty percent." He added as the readings changed.

"Mister Paris; attack pattern Alpha one." Captain Janeway ordered; I smiled slightly, now the real fun began. "Target the lead cube and fire transphasic torpedoes." She ordered her tactical officer.

"From hells heart I stabeth thee." I spoke up startling the crew slightly; I was feeling a sudden strong sense of delight at the prospect of hurting the Collective once more; this time Amy did not object.

"Target the second cube." Captain Janeway ordered ignoring my indiscretion even as the initial targets' debris still smoldered in the void.

"Distance to the center?" Chakotay inquired after our lone remaining attacker fled.

"Less then one hundred thousand kilometers." Seven replied from her own station.

"This is going to be something else." I remarked as the ship drew ever nearer to what was in the center of this nebula; and I was not disappointed.

"What the hell is it?" Captain Janeway demanded; the sight was indeed quite breathtaking to behold, especially on the view screen of Voyager as opposed to the tiny screen of a television. I was so awed by the beauty that I missed the rest of the conversation between the bridge crew concerning this discovery.

"Alas; the Captain has a renewed sense of her own self-righteousness." I muttered as the ship turned around careful to modulate the vocal circuits of my implants to ensure no one else heard me.

* * *

"I thought you said I'd damn well succeed." Admiral Janeway demanded approaching me in the corridor; I smirked slightly and turned to regard her.

"And you will Admiral; however your plan merely needs a little modification." I returned knowingly; the Admiral eyed me critically, but chose to resume her course, she was going to Cargo Bay two to speak with Seven. I returned to my own destination; one last visit to Holodeck two for a little fun time with Amy before our trip back to the Alpha Quadrant.

* * *

Samantha's Personal Log: Supplemental; Oh honey, I can't wait until we get home; I want to share Naomi with you in person, I want to hold you in my arms again and smell your nearness. I want to get naked and go wild because damn the holodeck just isn't the same thing as being with you; maybe we can try for that son you were hoping for? Anyway; just a quick message today, it's now or never for us, and I'm confident that it **will** be now.

* * *

Jenny's Personal Log: Supplemental; Mom, Dad… I don't know what to say; I don't know where to begin, I love you very much, and if we don't make it this time… No; I'm not going to say it, Al wouldn't lie to us, he wouldn't tell us the truth, but he wouldn't lie purposefully to us… See you on the other end of this wormhole, I love you…

* * *

I stood on the bridge for this one last time; feeling for all the world like Darth Vader aboard the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Excelsior as that vessel entered the asteroid field in pursuit of the Millennium Falcon.

"Take us in." Janeway ordered after all was said and done and the crew was now ready for the worst.

"Aye Captain." Tom returned inputting commands.

"Ready; willing and eager to do this again." I remarked thoughtfully. "Her majesty is going to be very upset." I added with a dark smile; I did so enjoy severely crippling that old cow, _good thing Amy's asleep for now._

"Please try to keep comments like that to a minimum Ensign." Janeway requested regarding me briefly from the center seat.

"Sorry Captain." I returned.

"The Admiral succeeded Captain." Seven reported. "Conduit shielding is destabilizing."

"Now Mister Tuvok." She ordered in turn; the Vulcan nodded and opened fire, _bye, bye Transwarp hub._

"Long live the Queen." I whispered sinisterly; or at least as sinister as I ever dared to allow myself to experience whenever she was concerned.

"Aft armor is down to six percent." Tuvok alerted as the ship rocked under Borg attack; I had to steady myself on Ensign Kim's station, for some reason I was humming the Duel of the Fates inside my mind.

"Hull breaches on decks six through twelve." He alerted.

"Should have kept a Decepticon for distraction." I muttered to low for the others to hear. "Starscream always was good at being the faithful lap dog." I added with a chuckle.

"I can't stay ahead of them Captain." Paris called from his station.

"The armor is failing." Tuvok added as the ship rocked once more and alert signals beeped incessantly from his console.

"Where's the nearest aperture?" Chakotay wondered moving from Tuvoks' station to Sevens'.

"Approximately thirty seconds ahead." She revealed. "But it leads back to the Delta Quadrant." She added.

"Mister Paris; prepare to adjust your heading." The Captain ordered.

"Yes mame." He returned; I bucked along with the decking and was catapulted over the railing onto the bridge deck proper.

"Talk about yer bumpy flights." I grumbled glaring pointedly at my broken arm as it began to heal. "Navigation; status, is this the right Quadrant?" I added in a soft whisper smirking slightly despite my nervousness.

"Mister Paris; what's our position?" The Captain asked as the bucking finally stopped; I'd failed to pay enough attention to my surroundings thanks to the pain and my own whimsical nature, and so I had missed a few minutes of what was happening around me. Thus I had missed hearing those crucial orders that the show had never allowed so as to build dramatic tension.

"Right where we expected to be." Paris returned; I scrambled back up off the floor and eyed the view screen, the sight wasn't very pretty; then again I hadn't been on the inside of one since **it** happened.

"The Transwarp network has been obliterated Captain." Seven reported; I smirked slightly and allowed a soft chuckle.

"Score one for the home team." I remarked jubilantly.

"We'll celebrate later." The Captain stated turning to Tuvok; my cheeks flushed slightly, I hadn't meant for the crew to hear me. "Mister Tuvok." She ordered; no need to say anything further, a strong sense of excitement shot through every ounce of my being like a jolt of electricity. The sphere erupted in a massive explosion that looked ten times more thrilling from the inside and everyone watched with baited breath as Voyager slipped out of its' fiery death.  
"We did it." She spoke softly as the sight of the Federation assault fleet greeted us on the central view screen, my eyes were immediately drawn to the U.S.S Enterprise One Seven Oh One- Epsilon; the only ship I recognized amongst the host of unfamiliar ones.

"We're being hailed." Ensign Kim's voice alerted breaking the strong silence permeating the bridge.

"On screen." Janeway ordered and instantly the image appeared. "Sorry to surprise you; next time we'll call ahead." She addressed the men on the viewer; I recognized Admiral Paris and Lieutenant Barclay instantly.

"Welcome back." Admiral Paris spoke a twinkle in his eye and a great big smile on his lips.

"It's good to be here." Janeway returned.

"How did you?" Admiral Paris wondered.

"It'll all be in my report sir." She quickly returned; the rest of the crew were still remarkably silent, probably digesting the fact that they were finally, truly home.

"I look forward to it." The Admiral stated his eyes briefly being drawn to Tom's post at the helm. As the image vanished replaced once more with a shot of the fleet the Captain lowered her head, and I followed suit; honoring a reckless, perhaps foolish old woman determined to set right what once was wrong… _Hey; kinda like Sam Becket on Quantum Leap._

"Thanks for your help Admiral Janeway." She whispered; suddenly the internal com line beeped open interrupting the quiet of the bridge yet again.

"Sickbay to the bridge." The Doctor's voice spoke up trailing off at the sounds of a newborn infant's cries; she sounded remarkably healthy and happy, I smiled at the sound of her voice. "Doctor to Lieutenant Paris; there's someone here who'd like to say hello." He added the joy in his tone indicative of a smile.

"You'd better get down there Tom." Janeway remarked with a smile.

"Yes mame." He returned leaving his post; I slapped him on the back as he past by me.

"Welcome to fatherhood Tom." I stated thinking briefly of my darling daughter asleep in our quarters.

"Thanks." He returned before vanishing into the turbo lift.

"Mister Chakotay; the helm." The Captain requested turning to her first officer; who appeared almost hesitant, as though he might not believe his own senses.

"Aye Captain." He stated heading to Tom's vacant post; now I turned to the Captain.

"I'll prepare to disembark; I have a feeling Admiral Paris would prefer to keep me aboard a different vessel while you're escorted to Earth." I stated the joy of the moment melting away as once again I thought of Omnibus' promise.

"Understood Ensign." She returned. "I have a feeling this is the last we'll get to see one another." She added; I smiled.

"It was an honor serving aboard your vessel Captain; I look forward to the next chance we'll get to meet, I have a bigger feeling we shall see one another again." I countered; the Captain and I shook hands and then I made my way off the bridge for the last time.

"Set a course; for home." I heard Janeway say after taking her seat just before the turbo lift doors closed on the scene.

* * *

Omnibus rose from his makeshift throne a smile on his lips; oh how he'd longed for this, but no sense in allowing the moment to slip away. Better to savor it for as long as possible; he had waited what seemed like an eternity, he could wait a few days longer.

* * *

We stood in the Transporter room that very afternoon; Amy, Serenity and I, our friends stood around prepared to wish us well. Samantha, Megan, Jenny, Naomi, Harry and for some odd reason Ensign Bristow; even the other senior staff members that felt the desire to see me off, even if I'd never truly grown close with the likes of Chakotay and Tuvok.

"We'll miss you." Megan broke the silence; I smiled and gave both twins a big hug.

"And I shall miss you." I returned softly.

"But we'll never forget you." Amy spoke up hugging her friend Naomi who was crying softly; I chuckled slightly and ruffled her hair.

"Your presence was not altogether unpleasant." Tuvok spoke up; I shook my head at the unexpected compliment.

"I hope we can see you again someday." Sam added. "I'd love for you to meet my husband." I shot her a startled look at that, but then swiftly hugged her as well; the others said goodbye one by one, most of them less memorable then others. Serenity and Amy stood patiently upon the transporter pad; our belongings having already been transferred to the other vessel intended to escort us to wherever we needed to go. Surprisingly the Captain joined us as I climbed up beside them; I hadn't been expecting to see her again after our brief farewell on the bridge.

"Try not to cause Jean-Luc too many headaches." She called out with a smile and a wink; I laughed out loud at that and waved her concerns aside dismissively.

"Relax; I'm not Q." I retorted.

"For which we'll be eternally grateful." Harry quipped; the rest of the crew present save Tuvok of course all burst out into laughter at that last remark and I was beginning to feel like we were truly ending a bad episode of the television series, since they always needed to go out on a laugh of some sort, for the most part. Turning to the crewman manning the transporter console I adopted a curious looking stance and smirked slightly as I mentally adjusted my vocal modulators.

"Energize." I ordered in perfect mimicry of Picard; and with a final look at my friends I dematerialized, leaving the Starship Voyager most likely forever and beaming across the vast distance between the two ships… At least vast in the sense that one couldn't simply walk between the two of them to reach one or the other; our destination… Enterprise, and the Fanboy within was most eager to meet and greet her crew; and perhaps make a new friend or two on this, the final leg of my journey in the Twenty-Fourth Century.

* * *

Q had watched all of this without interfering; he knew that the end had come and his young charge was going on to face a most difficult challenge indeed, but a part of him felt the sudden impulse to play up the importance of this man's journey for the sake of his silent partner from Earth Prime observing even now as she always did…

**Space; the Final Frontier, these were the voyages of the Starship Voyager, her secondary mission… To explore new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before… Her primary mission; to ultimately find her way home, by any means necessary…**

**Now; these are the voyages of the Starship… Enterprise; it's primary mission to explore strange new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before… And ultimately; to lead one champion to his ultimate confrontation with destiny…**

To Be Concluded…  


**That's right folks we're back to the Alpha Quadrant; yep the fight with Omnibus is forthcoming, but first a little bit of tieing up of loose ends and a meeting with the famous crew of the Starship Enterprise... Be here next time for the exciting conclusion to the adventures of Ensign Alain Desrochers in the Star Trek universe in the story aptly titled...  
Star Trek: The Next Generation; Home and Heartache... Which naturally will be posted in the proper section of **


	12. Chapter 12 Comprehensive Timeline

**Chrysalis Timeline**

**Earth 929 Year 1992 April 13TH;** Alain Desrochers dates Jennifer McMahon for the first time, Unicron secretly employs an agent of Cobra-La to leave the book detailing Shadow Magic in Jennifers' school locker setting events in motion to ensure the arrival of Earth Primes' Alain Desrochers in the year 2003. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 1._

**Earth 929 Year 1994 May 27TH; **Jerrica Benton, the Holograms, their Associates, The Misfits and their Associates are mistakenly removed from Earth 929 by Saturnyne the Omniversal Majestrix due to outside interference from Merlyn. Roma chooses to use them for their mission to Earth 1302 in place of the Earth 656 counterparts intended to be used thus granting the assembled cast knowledge of the Omniverse for their future friendships surrounding a young man they currently have no knowledge on.  
Roughly five months later possibly; Unicron ensures that Kang the Conqueror will mistakenly apprehend all those living in Starlight Mansion thus ensuring that the Starlight Girls will also be aware of the Omniverse, the reason for this is still uncertain, but Primus has speculated that the Dark God wished to manipulate Alain's future ties with the Starlight Girls to unspecific ends. _Source Flashback: Crisis on Earth 929 Final Chaos and Unwritten Prelude to Crisis: Kang & The Starlight Girls._

**Earth Prime Year 1995 September 6TH; **Reanne McMahon previous Chosen of God loses the full power of her bloodline and begins to pay great attention to her daughters' boyfriends seeking the next Chosen. _Source: Off-Screen Event Never Written._

**Earth 929 Year 1997 August 10TH; **Jennifer and Alain finally become Talia and Darkholme beginning the process of harvesting Chaos energies in small amounts so as not to be noticed by Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, several classmates of the duo most notably Christine Delisle, Candace Berard, Pamela Noel and Nicole Desroches (No relation) disappear. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 2._

**Starlight Citadel Timeline Uncertain; **Roma at last discerns the presence of total Chaos brewing on Earth 929 and sends Spider-Girl of Earth 107 to ferret out the source of the growing Chaotic forces threatening to destabilize the Omniversal balance. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 2 and 3._

**Earth Prime Year 2000 June 20TH; **Alain Desrochers Graduates High School and is faced with a lonely future as he knows nothing of what is expected of him, Reanne begins to despair as the Demons collect more souls to break the Gates of Hell open wide. _Source: Off-Screen Event Never Written._

**Earth 929 Year 2002 July 4TH; **Spider-Girl is enslaved by Shadow King under orders of Darkholme, Wheeljack begins plans to build the Infinity Engine, unseen by all Unicron is pleased at the progress of his pawns. Talia briefly faces the Ghost Rider revealing her presence and her plans indirectly to Mephistopheles, Blade the Vampire Hunter encounters Darkholme during a raid on a nest, and a Pocket Dimension is accidentally destroyed resulting in the unleashing of the Shadow Warg from their long ago banishment, Talia begins to tame them as pets. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 4 and 5 and 6._

**Earth Prime Year 2003 September 13TH Give or Take; **Alain telephones Jennifer; God ensures the call will be disappointing; the Omniverse becomes common knowledge to Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part One._

**Starlight Citadel Timeline Uncertain; **Roma enlists the aid of Arachnia AKA Gwen Stacy from Earth 3062; the choice of heroes reflecting ties to Spider-Man is due to manipulations in the Starlight Citadels' systems by Merlyn, Roma's father. Reasons unknown. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue 6 Epilogue._

**Earth Designation Unrevealed Timeline Unspecified; **Alain Desrochers encounters Xena forcibly, God causes amnesia to ensure her champion shall take his training seriously, Unicron begins actively observing events from afar as his manipulations begin to take hold of the human.  
Taking the name Alumni; Alain journeys with the Warrior Princess and the Battling Bard and begins learning the proper use of the sword, he begins to bulk up and tone his body eliminating the fat. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part One._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 January 3RD; **Arachnia is captured by Talia and Darkholme becoming a sexual plaything for the duo replacing the most likely deceased former missing classmates; Wheeljack perfects the Infinity Engine and begins testing, Time Travelers from a future date and time inadvertently arrive in undocumented encounter between the Fantastic Four and a team claiming to be Salvation, they are led by a woman of unspecified origins and trick Johnny Storm Alias The Human Torch into returning with them to the future. _Source: Unwritten Salvation Issue Numbers Unknown; The Human Torch Saga and Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 7._

**Abbreviation Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Ares and Hera take a vested interest in Alumni; Ares uses a special poison to make communication possible, due to fragmented memories Alumni continues to train uncertain of his origins, but needing the skills to survive Hera convinces Hercules that Alumni is a dangerous threat; other players also become involved as the Heroes are gathered to protect the young man and facilitate his training all engineered by Zeus of course. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part One._

**Coruscant 177 Roughly 15 000 Years before the Foundation of the First Galactic Republic; **Jedi Knight Sarill Contrelle journeying to the planet Mustafar as part of her Jedi Trials is reborn upon ascending to the rank of Jedi Master, an unknown female party giving the name Quinlee is responsible for her newfound immortality, the Force reveals all to Master Sarill. _Source: Unwritten Star Wars Tales of the Jedi Order Story._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 February 23RD; **Techrat is approached by Predacon warrior Waspinator in disguise; Darkholme begins capturing his villainous pawns in preparation of the big push, Mephistopheles appears to the current Ghost Rider warning of dire portent and enlists his services to claim the Eye of Agamotto, the attempt fails though it does force Stephen Strange off of Earth 929 for the remainder of the year leaving a doppelganger under the control of Mephistopheles in his place. _Source: Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Ghost Rider Prelude to Crisis and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Chronicles of Waspinator the Twenty-First Century._

**Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Alumni spends time in Athens undergoing intense physical training; Autolycus gets him in trouble with a tribe of Centaurs, but Xena manages to get him out. Unicron is well pleased at the progress of Alumni; fully aware what is to come he begins preparations to start the human on his path to the second unseen Destiny linking Alain to Cybertron forevermore, Past, Present and Future. _Source: Unwritten Tales of Suspense Issue Number 0 Alumni & Autolycus Vs. The Centaurs._

**Coruscant 177 18 Years before Star Wars The Phantom Menace; **Master Contrelle emerges from the planet Mustafar and engages battle with a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious on the planet of Naboo, her attempt to prevent the fall of the Jedi Order fails, she flees into hiding and awaits the time of the Clone Wars vanishing seemingly from existence on the planet Dagobah. _Source: Unwritten Tales of Suspense Issue Number 1 Jedi Vs. Sith._

**Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Alumni journeys with Xena and experiences numerous adventures alongside his two mentors; during the Hind incident Alumni and Velasca are both kidnapped by Tarantulas acting under orders from Unicron, Unicron implants the spark that will become Tarantulas 929 within the flesh body of Alumni, forcibly usurping the young mans' true destiny and sub-planting it with that of a more favorable and necessary fate. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part Two and Prologue to Twisted._

**Faerûn 09 Timeline Uncertain; **Alumni, Velasca and a misplaced Kender spirit by the name of Tasslehoff Burrfoot fail in their quest to lay claim to the Dark Matrix from Cybertron 118 from the hands of the Drow of Menzoberranzan. Alumni's altered personality is forgotten and he is returned to Xena's Earth dismissing his stray memories as a trick of the Gods; within the spark of Tarantulas 929 begins to plot recapturing the flesh form of Alumni to continue his service to a being he has forgotten, obviously Unicron. _Source: Twisted._

**Earth Prime Hell Dimension; **Lucifer begins to prepare the power to breach Hells' Gates and conquer humanity along with the Earth; Time on Earth is no longer in motion however Time in Hell continues to beat faster towards the fated release of all Demonkin, The Secretary chooses to leave these scenes of darkness unseen to those regarding the chronicled history of Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers of Earth Prime. _Source: Off-Screen Event Never Written._

**Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Alumni travels with Xena further the Ambrosia stolen from Callisto still hidden; he encounters Diana the Pagan Goddess and faces a tribe of Uruk-Hai; led by Damocles, the origins of the Uruk are unknown, Alain becomes Justice for the first time. Suffering a mortal wound he ingests the Ambrosia; the cultivating Spark of Tarantulas 929 uses this chance to resume control of the body assuming Godhood and proclaiming himself God of Chaos, due to fragmented memories Alumni does not recall anything of his mission to Faerûn. Instead he proceeds to wipe out whole villages of innocent souls while Xena, Gabrielle, Iolaus, Hercules and Joxer meet Toley one of Gods special guides; believing Alain's soul to have fragmented into two separate souls due to his amnesia and the fact that Unicron has hidden his machinations thoroughly from the eyes of God and Primus Toley sends his friends into his astral plane to save Alumni/Alain from death.  
In the end Tarantulas 929 is forcibly rejected from Alain's body taking on briefly a corporeal flesh form that is swiftly terminated by Toley's mate; thus Alain is saved and begins to learn more about his First Destiny. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part Two and Xena Warrior Princess & Hercules The Legendary Journeys; God of Chaos._

**Earth 929 Timeframe Unclear; **Unicron reclaims the spark that was Alumni who still has no recollection of the events surrounding its' origins; in fact it still believes itself to be a mortal soul and possesses a human appearance. Agreeing to Unicrons' false assurances Alumni the Spark is reformatted completely and finally turned into the Cybertronian Life Form destined to be; Tarantulas 929, though Tarantulas's memories have been altered so that all vestiges of his past life as a human are erased he completely understands that he has Unique Origins from those of Cybertronian Descent. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess & Hercules The Legendary Journeys; God of Chaos Epilogue._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate Possibly 49504.3; **Having completed his training on Xena's Earth Alain is sent to the 24TH century and Q; first he must understand the nuances of the technology and survive the harsh wilds of the Delta Quadrant aboard the Starship Voyager, friendships are forged with Megan and Jenny Delaney and Ensign Samantha Wildman. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Learning Curve; A New Frontier._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 March 15TH; **Darkholme and Talia continue unseen manipulations; Wheeljack and Optimus Prime place the Infinity Engine under SHIELD protection in secret and use deception and subterfuge to prevent the Decepticons from initially discovering the engines' absence, Cobra forces resurrect Serpentor from his death-like stasis and events begin to interconnect due to the presence of the Chaos Bringer. The Power Infinity Gem becomes the property of Reed Richards for a brief time, with it he discovers the Autobots' Infinity Engine has ties to the Infinity Gems though neither seems logically possible considering the origins of the Gems and Engine. _Source: The Transformers Issue Number 85 To Harness Infinity and Crisis on Earth 929 Reed Richards; Prelude to War._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate 50384.2; **Alain meets Q for the first time; he begins to find his place on Voyager, Q takes on a new identity as Hunis the Trickster and creates the belief in the Draconian race that Al is Sithicus the Destroyer. The Borg become aware of Al's presence on Voyager during the Species 8472 incident and begin preparations for assimilation. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Learning Curve; A New Frontier and Possibly Star Trek Voyager; Assimilation; Enemy at the Gates._

**Coruscant 177 Approximately 13-15 Years After Events of A New Hope; **Sensing the arrival of Alain is imminent Master Contrelle leaves Mustafar and Discovers Callista on the planet Naboo where she battled Sidious all those long years ago, she begins to re-open the woman fully in the Force. _Source: Unwritten Tales of Suspense Issue 2 Tales of the Jedi._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate Approximately 51268.4; **The Borg capture Alain and forcibly assimilate him, the process goes awry through unseen developments; some such as Alain himself believe that Q influenced the Assimilation process and as usual the Omnipotent One decides not to correct that assumption taking perverse pleasure in the blame. In truth; due to the fact that the Spider Drone Tarantulas forcibly inserted into Alain back during the whole Twisted affair the Nanoprobes themselves become conflicted as two separate and alien sets of programming intersect and combine on a sub-molecular level re-writing the young human as Unicron intended into a Technorganic Life Form of unique abilities though still possessing the characteristics of the Borg and not the Cybertronians.  
After escaping Alain and the Voyager crew must come to grips with what has happened to him; life becomes further complicated when the Draconians arrive forcing Al to act and tap once again into the powers of Justice reawakening his memories of said power.  
**Stardate 52081.2; **Q frees Omnibus, Callopias and Serenity from incarceration; his Padawan will soon encounter a real Demon and begin to put the pieces of the puzzle that is his life together. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Assimilation; Enemy at the Gates._ **Author's Notes: So as not to confuse you I will pause here to explain further the entire Assimilation Process I have recently re-created and re-envisioned to further draw ties between Alain and Cybertron. As you have already read Alain as Alumni encountered the Tarantulas of a different reality in Twisted and in order for Alumni to control Velasca this Tarantulas placed a Spider Drone within both of them. At the end of said story Velasca puked up the Spider Drone in a liquid state as she was forcibly bound to the Kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, but the fate of Alain's Spider Drone was never revealed… This got the Wheels in my head to turning; at one point I had decided that Q really had mucked around with the Assimilation creating the other powers and as you can see whenever we bring that up in the main body of work Q and even his son q constantly play up this fact though in truth Q being a well known master of lies never actually did anything except to awaken the latent Mutant Gene in Alain a dormant Gene that all Earth Prime residents possess unknowingly.  
****The other power, powers I should say; originate from the Assimilation of the Spider Drone; Alain's ability to manipulate and created hard light holograms for brief moments in time is a remnant of the Spider Drones' own onboard holographic communications system, the ability to harness Gravity and to a lesser though extremely finite extent the Magnetic Spectrum is a remnant of the Spider Drones' repulsor field generator, which allows certain advanced Spider Drones the ability to levitate and fly defying gravity as it were, as well as the Spider Drone's magnetic grapplers, which Tarantulas has used in the past and is my interpretation of the little claw-like appendages sometimes seen in the Beast Wars cartoon, I mean they can pick up the pieces of Tarantulas when he gets' blown to smithereens, but some of those pieces looked a little awkward and even impossible to grasp, so I figured the claws must have added magnetic grapplers to facilitate picking up awkward, larger or even smaller pieces. This also explains why Alain's and Amy's Nanoprobes resemble eight-legged arachnids and possess a sort of semi-consciousness of their own at times; since the Spider Drones are Tarantulas' version of Smart Tools or AI units, which assist him in his laboratory experiments and the like it would make sense that at times they would assume control of certain bodily functions for unspecified purposes caused perhaps by mutated or aberrant behavioral programming as a result of the assimilation. The reason why I explain this all to you here dear reader is to facilitate the explanation and also I have no intention of revealing this truth to the characters in the story in any way shape or form; it's the Author's decision after all, so my original intentions now have an underlining perhaps sinister origin concerning the abilities of Technorganic Borg and also ties Alain to Cybertron just that little bit more… Now back to the matter at hand.**

**Earth 929 Year 2003 May 27TH; **Darkholme celebrates his twenty-first birthday and enjoys the fruits of his labors, namely Jennifer and Gwen; Cobra sets in motion project B.A.T Upgrade and sets their sights on acquiring the SHIELD Helicarrier. On Cybertron the war escalates as both Autobot and Decepticon begin deep space exploration for both Energon sources to replenish depleted supplies and lost colonies hoping to bolster their ranks with Cybertronians who had grown tired with the war and left, but are now desperately needed. Ultra Magnus makes contact with the Junkions of planet Junk and discovers faint traces of Cybertronian signatures from distant planet Nebulos; the Silver Surfer returns to being Galactus' Herald when Nova (**Frankie Raye**) is incarcerated on the Shi'ar home world for aiding Thanos in slaughtering eighty billion Kree survivors.  
Unicron begins preparations for the creation of Cyclonus and Scourge; it is also theorized that at this time the Universe Conflict of Cybertron 1300 was first conceived and possibly executed. Johnny Storm; missing for Five months in the Future, or a possible Future Timeline is at last returned by a mysterious young teenager with feline inspired characteristics, he says nothing of what he saw or did or even why he was gone so long. _Source: Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Cobra; Prelude to Crisis and The Transformers Issue Number 89-90 Plight of the Junkions and The Silver Surfer Issues Numbered Undecided; Heralds of Galactus and Crisis on Earth 929 Johnny Storm; Prelude to Crisis._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate 52143.6; **Alain discovers both Serenity and Callopias roughly around this time, Serenity the Goddess attempts to seduce him, Callopias the Demon grows eager to kill him and events rapidly spiral out of control including an incident on the Holodeck until roughly Stardate 53049.2 when Al slays Callopias in combat and begins a torrid affair with Serenity. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Forbidden Fruit._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 June 10TH; **Chaos has clouded Earth 929 from Roma's sight almost completely; aware she requires a new champion to prevent its' destruction she begins scouring the Omniverse for the perfect hero, preferably a Counterpart to Alain Desrochers 929. Meanwhile Talia at last is fully eclipsed by Unicrons' influence as he takes a personal hand in the events he is manipulating and Megatron finally deduces that Prime has hidden the Infinity Engine amongst the humans of SHIELD. In the small kingdom of Wakanda home to Africa's premier super hero the Black Panther Waspinator, the Predacon from a future time joins forces with T-Challa, Ghost Rider and a repentant Juggernaut to prevent T-Challa's enemies from unearthing remains of the Maximal Transwarp Exploration Craft Axalon and using them against the African heroes kingdom; time seems almost to stand still as though awaiting the coming of Alain Prime. _Source: Unwritten The Transformers Issues Numbered 92-94 (Possibly) Infinity is a Long Time Coming and Chronicles of Waspinator; Waspinator & The Secret Defenders._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate Unknown; **After several months possibly a year of recuperation following the battle with Callopias, Alain Desrochers meets Amy and winds up adopting her via assimilation to save her life; Amy Chelerise Desrochers changes Al's entire outlook on life. Revealing his secretly crafted Holo-Cons; sentient holographic Decepticons, Al and Voyager repel attacks by the Borg and experience a great many adventures.

**Stardate Approximately 54274.7; **Al is visited by Warren Meers of Earth Hellmouth 400 reminding him that the events of Shattered is rapidly approaching; Al takes Amy to Eternia and is in turn adopted by her family, it is believed by Historians of Al and those around him that Serenity was impregnated close to this Stardate as well. Once returned to Voyager events continue on until fated Stardate 549703.4 when Admiral Janeway of one possible future arrives and leads her younger self into the destined event resulting in Voyager at last coming home to the Alpha Quadrant. Transporting over to the Enterprise Alain gets' his house in order and faces Omnibus at last; the Demon Overlord almost kills him, but he succeeds in destroying the Demons' physical form. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; War Against the Collective and Star Trek The Next Generation; Home and Heartache._

**Starlight Citadel Time Unspecified; **Roma recruits Alain to aid in ending the Crisis on Earth 929; none of the players are ever told how long this Chaotic anomaly has been growing, Al devastated at being torn away from Amy agrees only after Roma promises to reunite them. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929; Of Spiders and Mutants._

**Omniversal Passageway Unknown Moment in Time; **Unicron prevents Omnibus' spiritual essence from following Al to enact revenge, the non-corporeal Demon Overlord begins his search for a realm capable of restoring his physical form and seems to be almost forgotten by the players involved. _Source: Star Trek The Next Generation; Home and Heartache Epilogue._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 June 23RD possibly July 5TH; **Al arrives on Earth 929 in Central Park Early Morning; he encounters Spider-Man in brief after tangling with Electro, and then is inadvertently assaulted by Professor Charles Xavier founder of the X-Men mistaken for Magneto. Under the assumed name Allan Pendragon Rutherford our intrepid hero begins his mission with the X-Men; a guest in their mansion, he is targeted by the Brotherhood under Darkholmes' control, rescues Spider-Girl by killing Shadow King, meets with Spider-Man again to help Spider-Girl, briefly encounters Lawyer Matt Murdoch and is stopped by the Brotherhood a second time along with Curt Connors AKA The Lizard before he can meet Doctor Strange. All on Earth 929 remain unaware that the current Doctor Strange is a facsimile and the real Stephen Strange is currently trapped in the Dark Dimension battling minions of Dormammu. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929 Of Spiders' and Mutants and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Doctor Strange Title Undecided._

**Coruscant 177 25-30 Years After A New Hope; **Master Contrelle and Callista rescue Lusa from a Vornskyr attack as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion grows into a truly epic development, Chewbacca and Anakin Solo lose their lives during the mounting war. _Source: Star Wars The New Jedi Order series of Novels/E-Novels and Tales of Suspense Issue Number 3 Vornskyr Attack._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 Exact Date Undetermined; **Alain is targeted by the Red Skull and an army of B.A.Ts' stolen from Cobra under the influence of Darkholme; the X-Men, Avengers and others put a stop to the attack on Manhattan and Westchester, Al kills the Red Skull be beheading him with his Lightsaber. Invited to an evening affair by Tony Stark Al and Rogue begin to slowly discover their mutual attraction for one another is more then just hormones, Wilson Fisk, Norman Osborn and Peter Parker are notable characters of Earth 929 also present at the unveiling.  
Venom and Carnage both attack due to Darkholme once again influencing events; Al, Spider-Man and Iron-Man fend them off, days later a team of X-Men, Spider-Man and Spider-Girl face them on the Brooklyn Bridge. Venom flees after Cletus Kasady is killed and the Carnage symbiote captured, Cobra owes Al a debt due to events surrounding Red Skull; Al enlists their aid at this point in time in finding answers to this entire mess.  
Eric Raymond sells out Gabor Oil to the Decepticons as Misfits' Music closes due to Bankruptcy; Al leaves New York and winds up in Los Angeles at Starlight Mansion, Jerrica and the others take him in, during his stay he meets Ricochet, Vixen and Synergy three Maximals from the Axalon as it turns out. Kills Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder with help from Cyclops and Jean, begins actively interacting with the Autobots, thwarts a kidnapping attempt, brokers deals with Cobra, the Autobots and Q, visits with Amy, helps young Nancy Cates deal with her mutation and takes the next step in his relationship with Rogue.  
Following major events surrounding Cobra, GIJoe the Transformers and their God Primus the Crisis of Earth 929 begins to reach the boiling point; Darkholme is ousted after pitting the Brotherhood against the Sinister Six; meanwhile Unicron and Tarantulas take the souls of the humans Cletus Kasady, Serpentor and the Red Skull AKA Johann Schmidt and once purging all traces of their past lives has been accomplished, Unicron uses said souls all of whom were directly or indirectly killed in their mortal life by Al to reformat and create the sparks of the Predacons Cicadacon, Seaclamp and Ramhorn; destined to become the Tripredacus Council and a future thorn in Rutherfords' side. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929: Avengers' Assemble and Crisis on Earth 929: Rampage in NYC and Crisis on Earth 929: Sea of Turmoil and Crisis on Earth 929: Terror Approaches and Crisis on Earth 929: More Than Meets the Eye._

**Earth X-1007 Circa 1942; **Warren Meers; having been forgotten by all journeys to this point in time of Earth X-1007 after engineering the deaths of numerous heroes including Superman and Batman, his goal is to enslave an army of heroines to conquer the Omniverse, but in truth Q is manipulating him to create a future team of Super Villains to face off against Alain and a future team of Super Heroes the young man will lead in service of Roma called Salvation, Warren's first target for slave training is Wonder Woman at a time when she is young and inexperienced… Harbinger; a new Demonic threat is also born due to Warren's incompetence and the beginnings of a truly dangerous team of adversaries is set in motion. _Source: Untitled Primarily Adult Story featuring Wonder Woman and Warren AKA Zeus._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 Month of August leading possibly into September; **Alain faces a plethora of events and villains as the Final Chaos draws nigh, The Sinister Six, Cobra, Darkholme, the Decepticons, the Green Goblin and others become embroiled in the massive up-surgence of mounting Chaos until at last, after killing his Earth 929 counterpart and facing down a Decepticon threat of spectacular origins Al engages in battle with Talia… Many casualties occur, but in the end Chaos is averted and the Infinity Engine destroyed; forced to leave Rogue and Amy behind Al moves on to conclude his training and hopefully return to Earth Prime at last.  
Other events entangled within this time include a brief encounter between Spider-Man, Spider-Girl and the Green Goblin, a battle with the Decepticons involving the Dinobots, and the mystical confrontation between Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Dormammu, Mephistopheles and the Doctor Strange Doppelganger all within the Dark Dimension. The Fantastic Four are also believed to have been taken out of the game due to a development in the Negative Zone, but remains unconfirmed. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929: Final Chaos and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929: Spider-Girl Laugh of the Goblin and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929: Doctor Strange Untitled Tale and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929: Coda._

**Coruscant 177 25-30 Years After A New Hope; **Al arrives on Mon Cal and briefly interacts with the Solos' and Skywalkers' before Master Contrelle, Callista and Lusa arrive to take him to Mustafar; whereupon he completes his training, masters Justice and… _Source: Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Perspective and Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Potential._

**Earth Prime Year 2003 September 13TH; **Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers returns home and begins remodeling his bedroom; Master Contrelle has accompanied him and the Force is no longer a part of her as she begins a new life on Earth Prime, in Hell Lucifer feels his presence, Jen and Christine talk briefly on the phone and Reanne prays for divine intervention. Meanwhile The Secretary has a special meeting with two individuals; Kal-El of a different Earth-Prime and Dawn Summers of Earth Hellmouth 75, the purpose of this meeting with Dawn Summers is never revealed. Other parties also briefly show interest in young Alain of Earth-Prime among them The Doctor, Daniel Jackson of SG-1 and Mxyzptlx. _Source: Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Potential and Interlude._

**Earth Hellmouth 36 Timeframe Uncertain; **Omnibus's spiritual essence escapes the Omniverse passageways and begins to amass mystical energy to return; Alain is sent to aid the Slayer in stopping Omnibus once and for all, events must happen quickly for Earth Prime is soon to be in dire need of Alain its' Chosen Champion. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Meets Sithicus._

**Earth Prime Year 2003 September 14TH; **Jennifer converses with Christine her best friend because of the phone call to Alain; q bears witness to this moment and amuses himself with the thought of the two coming together at last. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Meets Sithicus Interlude._

**Earth X-1007 Circa 2005;** Warren targets his next victims Kara Zor-El Alias Supergirl and Kara Zor-L Alias Power Girl to continue enslaving his army. _Source: Unwritten/Untitled Primary Adult Oriented Story Featuring Warren._

**Earth Hellmouth 36 Timeline Uncertain; **With Omnibus now destroyed completely and no longer a threat; Alain is approached by Whistler in order to assist the Powers that Be in restoring the Balance destroyed by Omnibus' unwitting presence on this version of Buffy's world. In order to accomplish this task; Alain must resurrect Tara McClay using Federation technology and drugs proven to work on others in the past and also recruit the long absent Scooby Oz the Reluctant Werewolf as it were to aid him in the city of Tokyo, Japan. It is revealed by the Sensei of the Light Dojo that ancient spirits once walked the Earth long ago; these spirits not destined to return until after the Slayer managed to defeat the First Evil and seal Sunnydale's Hellmouth manage to escape thanks to Omnibus and set into motion the rise once again of the Elementals.  
Al must convince a young Chinese girl by the name of Mei Lin that she is the Chosen One; destined to lead a team of four young women against the forces of the Spirits themselves, with the aid of Oz and Tara he must find a way to rewrite what Fate truly has in store for all. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dark Alliances and Partially Buffy the Vampire Slayer Inherent Evil._

**Earth 929 Year 2004 April 28TH; **Amy Chelerise Rutherford holds a training session with Professor Charles Xavier in order to expand her telepathic skills. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dark Alliances Interlude._

**Limbo Timeline Uncertain: Possible Future Events Revealed; **The Dark God Unicron holds a brief conference with Mega Zarak discussing events not yet part of the official Timeline; Mega Zarak informs his Master that Nemesis Prime has managed to procure the Dark Matrix on Eternia thanks to the unwitting assistance of young Alain Desrochers. Unicron leaves to harness the powers of Chaos being unleashed during the Autobot/Decepticon Conflict on Cybertron 5089 in order to restore his Planetary Body while trapped in a smaller form; The Universe Conflict is mentioned in brief, the reasons for this upset in the Timeline are uncertain, but information regarding the events surrounding Alain on Eternia and dealing with Nemesis Prime are most definitely intended to be a Future event as of yet Unchronicled by The Secretary. It is possible Uatu the Watcher parted the veils of Time and Space in order to gain further understanding on the Chaos Bringers interest in the Young Man from Earth Prime. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dark Alliances Interlude._

**More as Follows I trust this has helped straighten out every aspect of the Chrysalis story featuring Alain Desrochers; Anything that is Unwritten will take some time for me to get around to if I write them myself I may enlist the aid of fellow Fanfic Authors who know characters like Ghost Rider, The Silver Surer and all that way better then me.**


End file.
